Silence of the Himes-Redone
by DemonicTwister
Summary: Firstly...I'm baaaaacccckkkkkk! Secondly, for those that don't know the story, a deadly murderer is running around the city of Tokyo. Natsuki Kuga, a special agent is sent to discover anything she can about this bloodthirsty murderer. But to do that, she must make a deal with the devil. And she is known as Shizuru Fujino. Rated M for a reason. Trigger warnings later on.
1. Special Agent Natsuki Kuga

Disclaimer: Own nothing but this story. Mai Hime belongs to Sunrise studio and all of the Silence of the Lambs stuff, belongs to Thomas Harris.

Summary: Firstly...I'm baaaaacccckkkkkk! Secondly, for those that don't know the story, a deadly murderer is running around the city of Tokyo. Natsuki Kuga, a special agent is sent to discover anything she can about this bloodthirsty murderer. But in order to do that, she might just have to make a deal with the devil. And she is known as Shizuru Fujino.

Okay, so a little history behind this story. Those that remember the fic, might recall what it was about. Now, you might notice that it's really different from the last time I posted it. That's because I'm a better writer than I used to be. Let me tell you, anyone who is new to this story, when I first posted it, ages ago, I think possibly eight, nine or so years ago (feels like it was way more), it was HORRIBLY written. Absolutely horribly. I was a teenager and when I looked back, I didn't think I was a very good writer. So I took it down.

So here is a slightly better written and slightly more coherent version of the same story.

At first, I wanted to keep the story off because of how badly written I thought it was, but because enough people seemed to want it back, here it is. Fine, have your badly written story, rewritten:

 **Silence of the Himes:**

 **Chapter One:**

 **Special Agent Natsuki Kuga:**

The harsh squeaking of the last bolt that needed tightening filled the room, making the bike's mechanic wince at the horrid sound. She scooted back, observing her work. Okay, so the last bit was secured. Should keep her wheel from hanging loose from its clutch for a while. She smiled, tossing the wrench back into its toolbox with hard "clank" and walked over to the table, scooping up the rag there and wiping away the oil smudge from her right cheek. She checked her face in the mirror for any other stains. No signs of any. Kind of a surprise for her, but not an unpleasant one.

She dropped the rag and was about to walk back into the house from her garage when she felt a vibration against her leg. Looking down at her phone, annoyed, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Checking the ID, she let out an aggravated groan. Tate. Yuuichi Tate. Her chief of police. Had to take this, whether she liked it or not.

She answered it, pressing it to her ear. "Yep, Tate!"

"Kuga," Tate said firmly, "I'm sorry but I urgently need you to come in today. There's something I need to ask you to do. There's an assignment I'm hoping you'll see to." Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright." She offered, "I'll be by soon. See yah."

Hanging up and glared at the phone, shoving it back into her pocket she grabbed her leather jacket from where she had hung it, pulled it on and grabbed her black and red helmet, snatching up the keys next to it. The next few minutes revolved around locking her house up, saying goodbye to her adorable and all too friendly yellow Labradors, Kai and Akira and opening the garage door.

She clicked the button, bringing the garage door down once she had walked with her motorcycle out of the garage. The garage door thundered closed and Natsuki pocketed the remote, jumped on her bike, put her helmet on and started the bike up, taking off.

She drove on the highway, wind whipping into her body, making her rock slightly to the left with a swerve on her bike. She swung around, driving down the road on her way to the police station.

She eventually parked her bike outside, taking her helmet off and headed inside. Waving to some of her fellow cops, narrowing her eyes when she saw how grim faced they looked. Perturbed, she walked through the hall to Tate's office. She pushed through the brown wooden door, seeing her boss's frame and spiky hair through the glossy window. She stuck her head through, smirking at Tate. "Tate, what's up?"

Tate smiled, gesturing to the seat that was across form his desk. "Have a seat, Kuga. I'll explain. Please close the door first though."

Natsuki nodded and closed the door, slowly walking over and dropping down on the sofa chair, eyeing her boss skeptically. "So, what's the emergency, chief?" Natsuki asked dryly. Tate observed the agent for a moment before exhaling, "I see you haven't seen the newspaper today." At Natsuki's look of surprise and confusion, Tate reached to the corner of his desk, grabbing a newspaper and tossed it to the young woman. Natsuki caught it, startled and turned it, looking at the front page. Her eyes became huge and she almost dropped the paper.

"Another one?!" She exclaimed, horrified as gawked at the paper in her hands.

The title said, _"Another woman has been murdered! Terror stalks Tokyo! The Hime Killer strikes again!"_

Natsuki shook her head, hands dropping to her lap, newspaper dropping out of her hands to the floor as Natsuki looked at Tate numbly. "Dammit." She hissed. "We really have to catch this guy."

"Agreed." Tate said, bringing his arms behind his back and clasping them. "Which is why I'd like you to meet with someone with just as a disturbed and twisted mind as our current killer. Perhaps you could bring us some insight. I'd like you to meet with a known serial murderer who is incarcerated. But only if you're willing to do this. I will not order you to."

Natsuki stiffened when she heard that. Tate wanted her to speak to a murderer? She couldn't say she had ever heard of that happening here. "Okay…." Natsuki began, cautious, feeling her heart race, "Who?"

Tate looked at her, tilting his head a little, clearly apprehensive to ask this of her. "Natsuki…you don't scare easily, do you?" Natsuki smirked, shrugging, almost puffing her chest out as she straightened her body. "You know I don't, chief. Who is it you want me to speak to? Stop being cryptic."

Finally, Tate sighed, unclasping his hands. "Kuga, have you heard of Shizuru Fujino?" Natsuki processed the name slowly, before growing pale. "Fujino?" She asked weakly, her bravado suddenly not as strong anymore.

Tate smiled grimly. "I see you have."

Natsuki's mouth dropped open. "The cannibal. You want me to talk to her?"

Tate nodded. "I do. But I understand if you can't. Both men and women who have gone in to interview her have come out crying or terrified. Fujino is capable of twisting peoples' words, getting into peoples' heads and making them break down with only a few simple words. I understand completely if you don't want anything to do with this."

Natsuki's emerald eyes glanced up at Tate, then back down at the paper. After a few seconds, she asked carefully, "And you're sure Fujino could give us some insight about the Hime Killer?" Tate nodded. "I do." Natsuki sighed, steeling herself as she locked eyes with Tate. "Then lets do this. I'll meet with Fujino."

Tate smiled. "I'm glad. I know this is a huge thing I'm asking. And I wouldn't trust anyone else with something like this." Natsuki smirked, "Lets face it, you _would_ trust Mai, but better my neck on the line than your sweetheart's right?" Tate flushed and he gave her a mock glare. "Get out of the office now." He ordered in a disgruntled voice, mouth forming into a smirk. Natsuki chuckled, getting up, picking the newspaper up with her, nodded to him and dropped the newspaper on his desk, walking to the door when Tate spoke up again. "Natsuki?" Natsuki whirled around, startled that Tate had used her first name.

She saw the guilt and worry in his eyes as he spoke, "Just be careful, alright? You do _not_ want Shizuru Fujino in your head. When you go to the prison, ask for the director there, Nao Yuuki. She runs the place and will be able to escort you to Fujino." Natsuki nodded, "Got it." She added, looking him in the eye, "I _will_ be careful. Promise."

Tate nodded, smiling and Natsuki turned, walking out the door.

She breathed out slowly as she went down the hall. Boy, how was she going to tell Mai, Mikoto and the others? They were _not_ going to like this. At all.

It didn't take her long to find Mikoto and Mai. The first place she looked was the kitchen. And sure enough, there they were. Mai was putting a pot up and another pot was steaming, the delicious smell of beef curry reaching Natsuki's nose. "Hey, guys." She greeted, grinning, hiding her nervousness. "Natsuki!" Mikoto acknowledged, the small, hyper cadet leaping forward and hugging the older young woman. As they parted, Mai turned to her friend, smiling warmly.

"Hi, Natsuki. How is everything?" Mai asked, unwrapping a package of noodles. Natsuki smiled at her sweet friend. She really didn't want to have to break the news to her about who exactly she was going to be seeing soon.

"I'm okay. Tate is sending me on a new mission." She started, hoping it wasn't going to descend into an argument. Knowing how protective Mai was, she could only guess how the buxom redhead would react. "Here's the thing." She said, watching as Mai's lavender eyes lit up at hearing her friend was going on her mission, "I need to have an interview with someone. A criminal." Mai's eyes widened, alarmed at what she heard. "A criminal?" She repeated. Seeing the uneasiness in the other woman's eyes, Natsuki winced. "Which criminal exactly?" Mai's usual chipper tone was gone as she looked at Natsuki in worry.

Natsuki braced herself, averting her gaze from Mai, letting the name out slowly, "Shizuru Fujino."

There was the sound of multiple brittle objects crashing to the floor at once and Natsuki whirled around when Mikoto wailed, "My noodles!" Both Natsuki and Mai ignored the distressed younger woman as they met each other's gazes, both dreading what would happen next. "The cannibal?" Mai asked, tone weak and afraid. Natsuki nodded, smiling grimly.

"What's a cannibal?" Mikoto asked, looking between the other two women before asking hopefully, "Can I eat it?"

Natsuki smirked at the irony of the question. "No." She grumbled, "But it could eat _you_."

Mikoto's eyes widened, sounding nervous at what Natsuki just said, "Huh?"

"Natsuki!" Mai said, glaring at her friend disapprovingly. The navy blue haired officer shrugged, "I'm going to be off soon. I just thought you should know. And it's better you hear it from me than from someone else." Mai nodded. "I appreciate that. Really. But Natsuki? _Please_ be careful. I don't want that woman, that…..creature to sink her hooks into you."

"Or her teeth." Natsuki said dryly and Mai scoffed, smacking her friend's arm, hands going to her hips as Natsuki chuckled. "Smartass." Mai grumbled, shaking her head.

"You know it." Natsuki said, flashing her grin. She took another moment as Mai chuckled and added, "Mai, since I'm going to be gone…I don't know for how long right now, could you check on Kai and Akira while I'm out?" Mai nodded, purple eyes affectionate. "Of course. I'll make sure they're fed and given water and everything. Promise."

Natsuki grinned, "Thanks, buddy."

 **Next Scene**

A few minutes later, Natsuki had said her goodbyes to frightened peers, afraid for their friend's safety, but Natsuki nodded them off, keeping a brave smile on her face as she geared up and jumped on her bike. She got the location of the ward where Fujino was being kept. It was just south of Tokyo, bordering Sakura Street, just before the fields.

Natsuki set out, being waved off by everyone else. Mai, Mikoto, Tate, Midori, Akira, Akane, Sarah, Chie and Aoi and the rest of the staff said their goodbyes. She started walking with her motorcycle, waving to them as she jumped on it, trying not to feel guilty at their concerned faces. They were all afraid for her in some way or other. She could hardly blame them.

But she resigned herself to her assignment. She turned, and drove off fast down the road, heading to the city of Tokyo.

An hour and a half past by and Natsuki finally arrived at the prison, halting her bike, turning it off and setting it up against the stark white wall of the building. She set her helmet down, locking it and the bike up with her chains and keys. She stepped back, looking up and gauging the building in its entirety.

There was nothing specifically threatening about the building. It was just an average building. White. Tall. Wide. Overgrown with ivy lining its cracked walls. Natsuki sighed. As an officer, she knew not to judge something by how it looked. Externally something, or someone could be the most kind or most normal thing or person to look at, but on the inside, there could easily be a rotten core. And what was being held in this building was as rotten as you could get.

No wonder this place had a steel fence around it that people all over the city steered clear of.

Natsuki held her breath in for a moment as she walked up the hard marble stairs to the building's front entrance. She went in and looked around. A woman at the front desk with long pinned up black hair and glasses smiled and said gently, "Hello, may I help you, Ms.?"

"Yes." Natsuki said, smiling, which was a struggle, as the atmosphere of this building immediately made her feel tense, "I would like to speak to Ms. Nao Yuuki? Is she in?"

"Yes, that would be me." A confident purr reached Natsuki's ears and the startled blue haired woman turned to see a young, curvy woman in a white doctor's coat, with bright, deep red hair cut just above her shoulders and bright green eyes that were twinkling at the officer. A coy smile touched the redhead's lips, "How may I help you?"

Natsuki felt an odd unease as she looked at this woman. She _seemed_ normal. But like the outside of the building, that normalcy felt like it was just an appearance. She forced a smile, "Yes, I'm Special Agent Natsuki Kuga. I was asked to come here and interview Shizuru Fujino." She heard the predictable gasp from the woman at the front desk. The bespectacled woman lowered her eyes to the computer. "Oh boy." The woman grumbled, "Here we go again."

"Ms. Omori." Nao chastised, though she was smirking playfully. The redhead turned to Natsuki again and kept her smile up. "Ms. Kuga, I hope you understand what you're getting into by interviewing this….woman."

Natsuki nodded, "I know. I know it's risky. But if it's to get insight on a case, then I think it's worth it. More importantly, the chief of my department thinks it's worth it." She held up the questionnaire that Tate had given her, "I'm just going to give her this, if you don't mind."

Nao nodded, smile widening. "I like your thinking. Risk taking is a part of life. I like to hear stuff like that." Her voice ended with a teasing edge that Natsuki just didn't quite like, but masked her unease as well as she could as Nao nodded for the agent to follow her. The two of them walked to the door of the hall, leading to the next level of the sanitarium. Nao put her hand on the lever of the door before turning to Natsuki, expression becoming surprisingly serious. "Whatever you do, Ms. Kuga," Nao said, "Do not talk to any of the other prisoners. Do not hand anything to Fujino besides that." Nao nodded to the questionnaire, "Do not give her any personal information about you or anyone you know. Understood?" Natsuki nodded, aware that this was procedure and was prepared to follow through.

"Good." Nao said, smiling, "Mr. Kaiji Sakomizu will be the guard to let you in. Good luck." Nao opened the door and let Natsuki in, walking down the stairs. As she walked, Natsuki got the distinct impression that Nao's eyes were following her with a little _too_ much intensity, but tried to ignore it till she heard the door behind her close. As she was halfway down the stairs, she heard horrified screams ring through the air that sent utter fear through her. Her heart raced at the noise, but reminded herself that everyone here was locked in cells in some form or other.

She reached the bottom of the stairwell and saw three guards standing there. One of them, a tan-skinned man with a small beard, fluffy brown, curly hair and quite a bit overweight with small glasses turned to Natsuki and smiled. "Hello, may I ask you who you are?" He asked. Natsuki nodded. "Special Agent Natsuki Kuga. Nao Yuuki said that you could go over with me what needs to be done when I interview Shizuru Fujino."

She noticed the other two guards stiffen before going back to work. The man, who Natsuki assumed was Kaiji nodded. "Alright." He said, voice genteel, "Here are some of the ground rules." The large man proceeded to tell her pretty much everything Nao had already told Natsuki and the blue haired agent had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Same old lecture. When Koji was done, he moved out of the way, opening up the cell door, leading to the hall of grim cells.

"Agent Kuga." Kaiji said respectively, nodding his head as Natsuki smiled and nodded back, walking through, down the hall as the gate closed and locked. Natsuki observed the whole, horrid hall in its ominous entirety. Ragged edged walls that were as grey as the cold floor. A cold, barren ceiling with only hanging, bright lamps. Multiple jail cells lined the opposite wall, containing screaming and moaning inmates, banging on their doors and walls in agony. Natsuki sucked in a breath, walking down the hall, avoiding looking at any of the inmates.

At the farthest part of the hall, right in front of the opposite wall, she spotted a foldup chair set up in front of a cell that looked like it had a pane of glass for a door. Natsuki narrowed her eyes as she closed in on it. A pane of glass? Wouldn't that be easy to break? Wasn't that risky instead of a row of iron bars?

As she went past all the other doors, ignoring the hisses and arms reaching out to grab at her, staying as close to the opposite wall as possible, hand going to her gun, just in case, she heard a snarling voice thrown at her from the last cell before the one with the glass door. "Bitch!" A voice spat at her, making Natsuki slant her eyes towards the cell, a tall, large shouldered woman with bright yellow hair and furious purple eyes spat at her, "Fucking bitch!" Natsuki ground her teeth together. She could ignore her need to shoot that woman long enough to get to and speak to Fujino. She could do this.

She got to the end of the hall, standing in front of the foldup chair and turned, preparing herself.

What she saw, standing in the cell, _certainly_ didn't give her the impression of a serial killer. It was a tall, voluptuous woman, body dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit, with long wheat colored hair, almost down to the middle of her back, bright crimson eyes and a gentle smile on a gorgeous face. Natsuki's mouth went dry. She knew she had just told herself that she shouldn't judge anything to be innocent, based on appearances, but this woman made any thoughts she had about that jump out the window. She stared, stunned. She found it hard to believe a woman that looked like, well… _this_ was the serial killer Shizuru Fujino. Indeed, when the visual of Fujino the cannibal came to mind, there was just no way Natsuki could compare it to the woman standing before her.

"Are you going to say something?" The woman asked, voice coated in silk, head tilting, making a shiver run down Natsuki's back before she could stop it. Natsuki shook her head, pink tint over her cheeks as she tried to compose herself again. Forcing her embarrassment away, she looked at the woman hard, trying to keep a neutral expression up.

"Yes, my apologies, Ms. Fujino." Natsuki began, trying to keep her voice cool and collected, "I am Special Agent Natsuki Kuga. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I was sent here to ask you a few questions. If you don't mind, I would be very grateful if you could share your thoughts."

The wheat-haired woman's smile remained as she stepped forward to the glass and Natsuki's heart raced. She should back away. She knew she should. But how could this woman be a murderer? How? The two just didn't seem to be related at all. Sure, she had seen this woman's face all over the news, the day the cannibal had been caught-the officer who succeeded in finally catching the lunatic having his name kept hidden from the media. She had seen this woman's face on websites attached to "cannibal," she had seen her face all over the place as new stories were shown on TV of the murderess's crimes. But still...it just didn't seem possible.

"May I see your credentials if we are to get to know each other?" Fujino asked, still smiling incredibly pleasantly. Perhaps too pleasantly. Natsuki nodded, reaching into her pocket, though she was cautious. She wasn't sure she should show this woman anything. Regardless of appearances, this woman was locked up in here for a reason. But, if she wanted this woman to answer any questions, she needed Fujino to trust her, even if it was only a little. She pulled out her ID, flipping it up and holding it out in front of her.

Fujino stepped closer, red eyes somehow becoming brighter and more intense as she neared the glass barrier. "Closer." Fujino requested and red flags popped up in Natsuki's mind, but she moved closer. "Closer." Fujino repeated. Natsuki swallowed hard and practically pressed her ID up to the glass. It was only then that the agent realized that Fujino wasn't looking at her ID. Fujino was looking at _her_. Right. At. Her. Natsuki felt a shudder begin at the intense gaze, before Fujino glanced at the agent's ID and turned away. "That ID is going to expire soon." Fujino simply said, as if what happened just now was the most normal thing ever.

Natsuki sighed in relief as she put the ID away, stepping back.

"Well," She said, feeling a huge weight off her shoulders, "Now that that's over with, may we begin?"

"Of course." Fujino said, turning with an amused smile, "I'm ready if you are." Natsuki tried not to read too much into that statement as she looked around the former doctor's cell. There was a sink, a toilet, a mirror above the sink, a cot up against the wall, three wooden bookshelves with many, many books lined up on the shelves, and several large sheets of butcher paper with elaborately drawn cities on them. There was one quite beautiful drawing of a violin, closest to the glass pane.

Without thinking, intrigue forced the words out, "Did you draw all of these yourself?" Natsuki asked, almost feeling like she should smack her head against the wall for the absentminded question.

Fujino looked at the drawings before nodding, still smiling. "Yes. All of them. All of them of places I've been. Rome. Madrid. Paris. Venice. Lucca. Florence. I am sad to say I know now that I will never get to go back to any of those places again." Fujino's face became sober for a moment before she smiled again at Natsuki. "Have _you_ ever been to any of these places before, Agent Kuga?" Natuski shook her head, not sure what else to do with this strange conversation.

"Oh, you must." Fujino smiled, chuckling, "They are beautiful cities. One should always travel whenever they get the chance. They are gorgeous places to see before-" Fujino stiffened as she averted her eyes, "My apologies." Natsuki lifted an eyebrow. "What are you apologizing for?" She asked. Fujino sighed, "I was going to say, 'before you die.' But I imagine that that's not something that you want to discuss with someone like me. My apologies."

Natsuki hesitated. She knew she shouldn't let her guard down. Not at all.

Still, Fujino sounded more or less sincere. "It's alright." Natsuki shrugged, finally sitting down on the chair calmly, "You have every right to talk about the cities you've been in. I imagine it must be difficult knowing you'll never go to any of them again."

Fujino smiled. "Thank you for your understanding. I bear with it though. Now, may I ask what kind of questions you'd like to ask?" Natsuki hesitated a moment before pulling out the file that Tate gave her with the questionnaire. "Oooh, a questionnaire," Fujino chuckled, smirking, "I'm slightly disappointed." Natsuki cocked her head, not sure how to deduce what the wheat-haired woman was talking about. "Why do you say that?" She asked.

Fujino shrugged, "I was hoping that you'd be a little more original and come up with questions yourself. Not ask according to your station's commands. I was hoping when you came to interview me, I was being interviewed by someone who was her own woman." Before Natsuki could restrain her heated anger, she was up off the chair again, glaring at the woman behind the glass, cheeks flushed, forgetting about self-preservation.

"Look here!" She snapped, I don't want to hear any lecture from someone who is a murderer." Fujino smirked, leaning back against the wall. "Good, so you _do_ have a temper. I was worried that you'd be incredibly boring. So, give me the questionnaire." Natsuki's mouth dropped open, stepping back. "Alright." Natsuki said at last, walking to the drawer of Fujino's cell. She opened it, keeping her eyes on Fujino the entire time and slipped the questionnaire inside, shutting the drawer. A beat past and Fujino got up off the cot, walking over to her drawer and pulled the papers out.

Fujino flipped through the papers, cocking her head. Finally, she smirked again, turning to Natsuki. "Oh, Natsuki, does your chief think that I'll be in any way interested by this child's play?" Fujino dropped the questionnaire to the floor uncaringly, grinning, startling Natsuki, who stepped back again. "Dr.," Natsuki began, "I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about. And if you don't mind, I would prefer if we kept our relationship on a last name basis."

Fujino chuckled, shrugging. "If you insist. A pity. Natsuki truly is such a lovely name." Natsuki narrowed her eyes at that, but said nothing. "Very well," Fujino submitted, "Kuga, it is. What I mean, Agent, is that these questions are child's play. Your chief just gave you these to keep us from the point of why you're here. Why send a trainee to one of the most dangerous criminals known to Japan? Why not interview a regular murderer? Why put you in this kind of danger? What do you and your station _really_ want, Kuga?"

Natsuki held her breath, surprised, but knew maybe she shouldn't have been. She had heard of this woman's brilliance. Perhaps she shouldn't have been startled at all by this conclusion. Fujino leaned back against the wall, next to the mirror and watched Natsuki, eyes focused on the agent. "I'm not interested in your station or your chief's questions. I'm interested in _your_ questions." Natsuki felt air leave her throat as she tried to come up with a response. Nothing came out of her mouth. What was Fujino saying? She wanted Natsuki to come up with her own questions, independent of the questionnaire? Was that what she was hearing?

"I…" She hesitated, "This isn't exactly the procedure, Dr. Fujino." Fujino chuckled, pulling her body off the wall, flipping a strand of light brown hair over her shoulder, "Procedure? My dear agent, this is not your average situation. Surely you don't think you should abide by normal rules in a place like this? You must have some creativity in that beautiful head of yours."

Natsuki felt blood rush to her cheeks at the praise. Beautiful-? She shook her head. It had been quite a while since anyone had said something like that outside of creepy catcalling. She fought down the blush as she grumbled out, teeth clenched, trying to keep her eyes focused on anything in the cell besides the smirking cannibal, "Okay, okay. So you've made your point. You want something more original. Got it. Fine." It took Natsuki a moment to think. More than a moment, really, because this was huge, what she was about to do. Hadn't everyone pretty much told her _not_ to do this? Wasn't she letting Fujino get to her now?

She found her question coming out carefully, now risking looking the doctor right in the eyes, "What was the name of the agent that caught you?"

Fujino cocked her head, her lip pulling back to reveal some teeth. "What a strange question. Oh well, I guess I can't complain. Better than those boring pages. Very well. His name was Nakamura. Agent Goro Nakamura. I don't know if you've heard of him or not. It's odd though. I'd have thought after my capture, he would have been held up as a hero. Perhaps he wanted as little to do with the media as possible. Then again, I can't blame him after…" Fujino's voice trailed off and she glanced to the side and Natsuki knew that the cannibal was thinking about something troubling. She wasn't going to push.

Those red eyes glanced back at Natsuki. "Next question." Fujino teased. Natsuki nodded. "Okay." She swallowed down the unease at what might have just happened in the so-called good doctor's head, and asked the next question, now focused on doing what Tate had asked, now that she had gotten the answer that she had always wondered about the killer, "Have you heard of the Hime Killer?" A strange look of unsettling glee filled Fujino's red eyes and Natsuki suddenly regretted her question.

"Of course I have." Fujino practically purred, "Even down here, there is news of murderers. What else about the killer, are you curious about?"

Natsuki felt the questions begin to leak out, "Why do you think the killer does what he or she does, Fujino?"

Fujino shrugged, walking to her cot and dropping down on it, "I don't know to be honest. Could be a number of things. Trauma. He's as insane as I am. Both. Perhaps he's being threatened by someone else. Or perhaps he just enjoys hurting other people."

Natsuki shook her head, "Enjoying hurting other people and being insane is the same thing." Fujino cocked her head, smirking. "Is it?"

Natsuki shivered, trying not to be bothered by those piercing eyes, or the question thrown at her. Fujino looked over at her drawings. "I'm not sure I want to talk about the Hime Killer anymore. Lets move on to something else." Natsuki's teeth ground together anew. Dammit. So close. "Fujino-" She started, but before she could say anything else, the deafening rattling of the bars next to Fujino's cell made the agent jump and turn her head, looking at the blonde-haired, purple eyed maniac in the next cell snarl, "Bitch! Fuck your mother!"

Natsuki snarled, roving forward and reaching out for the sneering lunatic when she heard Fujino call out for her, "Agent Kuga! Agent Kuga! Please come here!" Distracted from her rage, Natsuki side-stepped to the glass and met her gaze with Fujino's intense scarlet one.

"Agent Kuga," Fujino said, anger in the cannibal's tone, surprising the agent, "I'm sorry for Ms. Suzushiro's behavior. I would never have those vulgar comments thrown at you or your family. So I _shall_ give you some of what you want. But first," A sly smile touched Fujino's lips, "I would like us to call each other by our first names, if you don't mind."

Natsuki almost didn't answer. She didn't want to be on a first name basis with this animal. But then…what choice did she have right now? If it helped her get some answers about the Hime Killer, then…

She nodded, feeling the words forced out now, "Alright…Shizuru." A wide smile appeared on the doctor's face, making Natsuki instantly regret her decision. "Thank you, Natsuki." Her name was purred out and Natsuki found it sounding strange and almost ethereal rolling off the doctor's tongue.

"Now then," Fu-No, Shizuru said, "I can send you somewhere. Somewhere where you _may_ find answers. Go look into Kagutsuchi's Shop. Near Hana Avenue. Just East of Tokyo Tower."

Natsuki eyed the cannibal for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay," She said finally, "Thank you, Shizuru." There was a startlingly pleased smile that reached Shizuru's lips and the doctor nodded as Natsuki pulled away from the glass and headed down the hall, glowering at the blonde woman behind the bars next to Shizuru's cell as she left. Had she turned around, she might have seen how Shizuru was staring at Suzushiro's cell dangerously, murder in those crimson eyes.

 **Okay, first chapter. Wow. It's been ages. *** **Starts shoving the dust and dirt away from the computer.** *** Wow. But if you insist, I will repost the stories. Redone.**

 **So be patient. Since I'm rewriting the series of fics, this might take a while. Be patient, please.**

 **Also, while we're on the subject, it seems a certain _someone_ couldn't wait. A certain author, that I shall not name, posted these stories without my permission. Not only that, he/she claimed that he/she asked permission, even though at the time I disabled my PM, so he/she couldn't have. Now, I could have been mature about this and not mentioned it at all, but here's the thing, plagiarism, thievery, is serious. This author stole from me. It's true that this is fanfiction, but this story and the crossover was what I came up with. So a word of advice to the author, never do that again. In the world, had this originally been my actual written, legally published story, with original characters and all, you would have been sued into the ground by now. No one else do as this author did, or I will take this chapter down, never repost again, and keep all the other chapters from being uploaded. Are we clear? **

**I'll give you a few seconds to think about that.**

 **Good. Oh, and thank you, so much, for alerting me: xx Catty xx, RogueMudblood, Mach The Cynic, HorusTheAvenger. You didn't have to tell me that someone had stolen my stories, but did and that's important. So thank you.**

 **So a word of warning for this story. Given the subject matter, there is cannibalism, murder, brutal scenes, and trauma. So trigger warning later on.**


	2. Thump thump Thump thump Thump thump

**Trigger warning in this chapter. Someone throws up. Description of a murdered person. Someone forced to almost commit suicide. Mentions of traumatic memories and panic attacks. Warnings for anyone who can't deal with that.**

 **Chapter 2: Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump**

" _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump."_ Went Natsuki's heart continually against her chest as she neared the sidewalk, seeing Fujino's "Kagutsuchi's Shop" up ahead. She was sure there couldn't be any kind of trap in there. There couldn't be. Shizuru Fujino had been locked up in that facility for almost four years now. That "trap" or ambush would have been discovered by now. It was safe. Or as safe as a place that a freaking _cannibal_ told someone about. She knew perhaps, as she crossed the street and jumped up on the sidewalk that she should radio it in to her station, but she _had_ to know what this was. Maybe it was a waste of time, maybe it wasn't. Either way, she should know first before anyone else. She wasn't going to waste the rest of her station's time.

The sky was pitch black. The navy haired woman didn't even have the mercy of the stars to grant her light, just the eerie glow of the lights from the city surrounding her. Natsuki reached the garage door of the shop, an alabaster flying creature surrounded by orange flames was the sign above Natsuki's head as she looked down at the handle of the garage. She sighed out, the cold making her breath visible in front of her. This was going to be difficult. She didn't exactly have a warrant for what she was about to do. But Tate never mentioned she couldn't do this. Besides, if anything happened, he'd be the one in trouble.

Natsuki smirked at that thought. Not that she didn't like the guy, but Tate needed to be brought down a few pegs. She leaned down, grabbed the metal handle and lifted up with all her might. The garage door groaned as it was pulled up, but just as the bottom of the door was about to pass her knees, the garage door made another groan the segmented, large piece of iron stiffened, unmoving in the agent's hands. Natsuki froze and hissed, staring at the garage door as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world.

What the fuck? She groaned. "Of course." Seeing no other way but to crawl under, the agent slowly lowered herself to the icy sidewalk, and shuffled her legs under the garage. As she crawled in, feet first, it didn't occur to her until after a horrendous pain shot through her leg, that the door was too low and that her right leg was too close to a jagged edge of that door. She hissed as her pant leg ripped and blood started seeping into the cloth of her already dark jeans.

"Shit." She growled. "Shit, shit, shit." Kami damn it. She really hoped there was no rust on the end, but of course, there had to be. She ignored the searing pain and crawled under the rest of the way, ducking her head under, thankfully the rest of her body and head going unscathed. She was now in a pitch black room. She looked around, standing up, wincing, teeth clenching as the pain fired through her leg again. Her eyes saw nothing but black. God…god, it was so dark…..just like…

 _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump._

Natsuki felt her breath leave as she nearly bent over, gripping her stomach. No, no, she couldn't think about that right now. She was not going to think about the forest, her uncle or the wolves. No. She shivered. She had a job to do. But she _needed_ some light. She had to have light now. Desperately, Natsuki groped into her pocket, grateful for at least being smart enough to pack a flashlight and pulled out the small red flashlight she had grabbed last minute and flicked it on, scanning the room as the beam of the light bounced around the garage's contents.

Natsuki felt her breath slow. Having some light in the room helped. She breathed out more evenly, the light showing her all kinds shit in the garage. A large car covered with the Japanese flag, the hood just sticking out, lanterns on shelves, shovels leaning against walls, broken dishes on the floor, books, jars, rocks, trowels, rakes, spoons, and other junk was scattered all over the dirty floor. Natsuki walked around carefully, not caring that her black leather jacket was now caked with dirt and ice. Her stomach groaned but she ignored it. Right now, she had to know if there was actually any real reason that Fujino-if there was any real reason that _Shizuru_ had sent her here for, or if this was a wild goose chase.

She flashed the beam of light over each inch of the garage that she was aware of. It didn't _look_ like there was anything important. She bit her lower lip and glanced at the car. Maybe…

She walked over and pulled her left hand into the sleeve of her jacket. She used the sleeve of her jacket to pull the handle of the front door of the car. Yanking the door open, her nose was immediately assaulted with a putrid scent she knew a little too well.

"Kami!" She cried, stepping back aiming her flashlight at the inside of the car. Her emerald eyes landed on a large bundle lying in the front seat. It was a burgundy cloth covering _something_. Natsuki felt sick as she got closer. Boy, she was glad that she hadn't eaten anything yet. She was sure she'd be upchucking it all over the garage floor.

She dared a few steps closer, going under the hem of the flag, shining the light down on the swathed thing on the front passenger seat, eyes fixed to a huge red splotch all over it. She almost retched as the smell became overpowering. Oh god. What was this? She really hoped this wasn't what she strongly suspected it was.

Reaching out a shaking hand into her pocket, pulling out the rag she had used to clean some of her motorcycle, she brought it up and wrapped the cloth around burgundy cover, slowly pulling it back.

Natsuki really wished she hadn't.

As soon as the cover was down, the smell became unstoppable and horrific, taking up every inch of Natsuki's sense of smell as she felt herself ready to throw up any contents in her stomach she had left. And what she saw, made her freeze, mind reeling back to the forest. Back to the night of a massacre. Wolves howling and running. A mad laugh filling the air, blood spurting out.

 _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump._ There her heart went again as she saw the decomposing ends of the slashed neck. No head. No head. No head! Just dried blood, slashed flesh and bone sticking out. Natsuki felt it coming. She bolted out of the cab of the car and leaned down on her knees, ignoring the sting of her injury as she emptied her stomach of what tiny bit she had left-not much, just some water and some toast this morning.

As she felt the disgusting bits left over on her mouth, she kept her flashlight in hand and used the other to grab for her radio. No choice now. She _had_ to call this in.

 **Next Scene**

Red and blue lights flashed around the street as officers jumped out of their cars, pulling out their weapons quickly.

Midori was by Natsuki's side in seconds. The garage door had been forced all the way open by officials, and now several members of the police force were carrying out the covered body on a gurney. Natsuki stood on the sidewalk, watching, looking paler than usual as Midori jumped to her side.

"Natsuki," Midori said, looking down at her younger friend with nothing but concern, "Are you alright?"

The ashen faced woman looked up at Midori, green eyes looking sullen. "I threw up." She said quietly, not sure what else to say. Midori almost chuckled, wincing at the sight of her friend's state. "Of course you did." She said, "After something like that, who could blame you? Let's get you cleaned up." Midori led Natsuki to the police jeep, sitting her down on the edge of the leather seat, handing her a water bottle. One other officer wiped away the rest of the vomit with a towel. Natsuki stared, exhausted as she spotted another officer coming out of the garage holding a wooden box.

The officer opened it and immediately looked away, repulsed, looking like he was about to throw up. Natsuki tried not to let out a dead laugh. She was pretty sure she knew what was in that box. It _was_ a decapitation after all. Clearly, this killer was efficient.

 **Next Scene**

Having said her goodbye to the very worried Midori, Natuski checked herself into the nearest hotel, ignoring the stares she was getting from people at the lobby at her dirty, bedraggled appearance when she went to the desk. She went to her room, pulled her clothes off slowly and painfully, dropping her bloodstained jeans and sock to the floor, dropping her leather jacket and shirt to the floor as well and stepped in the shower without even checking for soap.

Numbly, she turned the shower on, rinsed herself off. She looked down at the bandage covering her wound. The once white pad taped over her slashed leg was now a deep brown from her blood. She sighed. When the paramedics had looked at it, they told her thankfully that there was no infection, but she'd have to keep it covered and wash it continually for at least two good weeks at the least.

Natsuki snorted and grabbed a bottle of what turned out to be indeed soap, and began bathing herself.

Almost an hour later; far longer than Natsuki ever remembered staying in the shower, the blue haired agent came out, now completely washed up, with the white cotton robe on that the hotel provided. She looked down at her now uncovered leg and walked over to her duffel bag, unzipping it and groping around in it for the alcohol and bandages.

Once her wound was cleaned and covered again, the robed Natsuki reached into her filthy jean's pocket and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Tate's number.

A quiet ringing came from her phone, and the pickup came from the phone and Natsuki brought the phone to her ear when she heard Tate's voice, "Hello?"

"Hi, Tate." Natsuki said, somehow managing a smile at Tate's voice, "I assume you heard what happened."

"Yeah," Tate said, "Kami, Natsuki, are you alright?"

Natsuki sighed, leaning back against the soft white pillows. "I'm not sure I'd use the word 'alright.' I'm alive. Injured, slightly sick and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have that in my head for a while, but I'll live."

She heard a sigh on the other end. "I'm so sorry, Natsuki," Tate answered, "This is clearly too much. I should never have asked you to do this. I'm pulling the plug. Get back to the station and we'll forget this whole thing with Fujino." "No," Natsuki sighed, glancing at the white curtain covered windows, "I'm already too involved. And if this helps in any way with the Hime Killer, I don't care. I'll discover hundreds of dead bodies if I have to." Natsuki thought about that for a moment and grimaced. She really hoped she hadn't spoken too soon.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Natsuki." Tate said, also disconcerted, "Haruka Suzushiro almost died this evening."

Natsuki's eyes widened when she heard that. "What?! You mean that lunatic in the cell next to Shi-next to Fujino?"

"Yeah," Tate said hoarsely, "The guards at the facility found Suzushiro on the floor, bleeding from her head. It turns out that Fujino was whispering to her through the glass's air holes and drove Suzushiro to nearly killing herself. Suzushiro is being kept in a safe cell away from Fujino for a time."

Natsuki's mouth dropped open, feeling cold all over again, the warmth of her shower now faded completely. She knew that Shizuru was dangerous and manipulative, but she never could imagine. Getting someone to try to kill themselves?!

"Holy shit." She whispered.

"I know," Tate agreed, "I think it's too dangerous, Natsuki. Come back. Don't put yourself in any more danger."

Natsuki shook her head, closing her eyes in further frustration. "No," She refused, "Tate, I can't. I found something. Something important. I don't know if the Hime Killer got this guy or what, but Fujino pointed me in the direction of this victim, which means she knows more than she says. I have to find out more. And if it saves at least a couple of girls' lives, then I'll do what I have to."

She heard another sigh and smiled, knowing that Tate had accepted her answer. They both knew she was too stubborn to listen.

"Alright," Tate said finally, "But be careful. I cannot express this enough. Be careful."

 **Next Scene**

 **The Facility**

The next morning, Natsuki had snapped awake at a nightmare that she couldn't remember and stumbled to a set of clean clothes. After she was fully dressed, she locked up her room, went to breakfast, and while extremely hesitant after what she found last night, knew she needed her strength and ate up two whole batches of dumplings.

An hour later, she drove on her bike the facility, ready to face the devil herself again.

After Natsuki awkwardly said her hellos to Ms. Omori and Nao Yuuki, her clothes now much cleaner than they had been last night, her black leather jacket wiped off and cleaned, she had gone to the hall, said hello to the staff and stormed furiously to the glass paned cell holding Shizuru Fujino.

Natsuki came to a stop in front of it, trying to ignore the now empty cell next to Fujino's.

"Shizuru!" Natsuki snapped, staring coldly at the woman seated back against the wall, sitting at the end of the cot, smirking as the agent glared, "What was the meaning of this?!"

"The meaning of what?" Shizuru asked, a sly look in her eyes, "What was the meaning of sending you to find a decapitated corpse, or the meaning of having Ms. Suzushiro smash her head into the corner of her cot?"

Natsuki felt fury fill her body, heating all of her skin. "Why?" She snapped, "Why did you send me there? What do you know about that body? Who was he? And why did you have Suzushiro almost kill herself?"

"One thing at a time, my dear." Shizuru chuckled, resting her elbows on her knees, clasping her hands together, "One thing at a time. Firstly, Suzushiro? Oh, she was a rude, self-centered waste of space. Really, dying would be the best thing for her." Natsuki's stomach turned as she heard that. This woman….did she even understand what she was saying?

"And as for the victim you found," Shizuru continued, not seeming to notice Natsuki's horror, "That was Jiro Asai. He was a patient of mine for a time. He had issues concerning his late wife. Grief. Depression. I hope you understand, I can't release too much of the details, legally." Natsuki stared incredulously at the woman. The lunatic actually sounded serious about her responsibilities. That was more than just bizarre, considering what exactly Shizuru was.

It was hard to believe, but yes, Shizuru Fujino had once been a psychiatrist. Someone who sat people down and talked to them and recommended them on how to change their lives for the better. The thought was both surreal and horrifying.

"Who do you think killed your patient?" Natsuki asked, though she was sure that Shizuru already knew.

"Who do you think?" Shizuru shrugged, "You asked about the Hime Killer. I sent you to find Jiro." Natsuki hesitated as she risked getting closer to the glass, "But it doesn't fit, Shizuru. Your patient isn't our killer's 'M.O.' Your patient was an elderly man. The rest of the victims have been young women."

She wasn't sure she should have let Shizuru know that fact, if she wasn't already aware. Shizuru didn't seem to show any surprise, she just kept those red disconcerting eyes on the agent. Eventually, the doctor sighed, pulling her legs off the cot and getting up. She walked to the wall where her towels hung on a rack, and pulled one off, spraying it with water and bringing it over to the drawer in her cell, pulling it open and dropping it in, and pushing the drawer out for Natsuki.

The navy haired woman stared at the drawer, not quite figuring out what was going on here. As she saw Shizuru back away from the drawer, she walked to the drawer and reached in, pulling out the towel. She looked at Shizuru curiously.

Shizuru smiled, pointing to her right leg. Natsuki looked down at her covered leg and then looked up, now _really_ unsettled. How did Shizuru know that her leg was slashed open? At Natsuki's incredulous look, Shizuru chuckled, "I can smell your blood."

A shiver went down Natsuki's back. Shizuru could smell her? _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump._

Natsuki said in a ragged breath, "Thank you." She leaned down, pulled her pant leg away and pressed the wet towel to her bloodstained bandages, holding it there and tying it around the limb as she smiled, looking up at the glass only for her eyes to pop open wide as Shizuru was now flush against the glass, forehead leaning against it, huge demonic grin on her face.

Natsuki hissed at the rapid, sudden movement, stumbling back.

Her hand flew up from the secured towel to her gun. She felt her fingers twitching at her gun's handle, the gun almost singing for her to pull it out and aim it at the glass, although she knew that would be her stepping right into the brunette's trap. The glass shattering and a psychotic criminal loose in the facility? Oh yes, Natsuki could just see the headline of the papers now, _"Idiot Special Agent Kuga releases the criminal cannibal, Shizuru Fujino back onto Tokyo grounds."_

Oh yes, that would be _just_ what her career needed.

She dropped her hand to her leg as she watched those blood red eyes watch her, an amused smile gracing the face of the owner of those red eyes. "Don't toy with me, Doctor," Natsuki warned, somehow keeping her voice under control, "This isn't your office, I am not one of your victims, or your patients. I would like this to be a civil conversation, however, we won't be making any progress if you don't stop playing these games."

Fujino smirked dangerously. She eventually bowed her head and pulled away from the glass, looking a little _too_ innocent. "Of course. If you insist. My apologies. Well then, shall we continue?"

Fujino moved back to the cot and dropped down on it, seated once more, her head still turned to Natsuki, an amused smile on her face.

Natsuki felt her throat become dry as she tried to think of something to say, now trying to decide if Fujino was playing with her again or not. Well, either way, they needed to proceed, so she supposed it wouldn't matter. "Alright." Natsuki said at last, sitting down on the foldup chair.

"What more would you like to talk about?" Shizuru asked, face now composed, as if her psychotic little bout had never happened, "Would you like to discuss 'M.O.'?" Natsuki nodded, still not sure talking about this with this particular woman was a good idea, "Yeah. I mean, the victim's age and sex are different. Not to mention the coroners didn't find anything missing except the head being taken off. I'm sure you know what the Hime Killer does."

Shizuru didn't shrug this time. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips pulled back, revealing a wicked smile. Natsuki tried not to gulp. This was getting creepier and creepier. Shizuru wasn't admitting to knowing anything. But the fact that she was implying that she enjoyed hearing how the Hime Killer dispatched his victims made her skin crawl.

"Anyway," She forced the word out, "All I'm saying is, if it was the Hime Killer that murdered your patient, why?"

This time, Shizuru lost her smile (much to Natsuki's gratitude). "Who knows?" Shizuru offered, "He knew too much, perhaps? I'm many things, Natsuki, but I am not a psychic or a mind reader. Do you think that there was a reason? Did you get an estimation on how long ago he was murdered?"

Natsuki thought about the decomposition of the severed neck, feeling slightly sick again. "I don't know. It looked like he had been dead a while. Maybe a week. Maybe two or three. I couldn't tell."

"Well," Shizuru said, head moving and looking at something on her bookshelf, "Perhaps it's not the Hime Killer. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions. However, what I know is that he was sending me calls in my cell and one day he abruptly stopped." Natsuki's head shot up. What? That was huge.

"What did he say when he made these calls, doctor?" Natsuki asked, leaning forward, eyes glued to the maniac. Shizuru didn't say anything for a moment before tilting her head back to Natsuki, smirking. "You know, that's sexy how you call me 'doctor,' Natsuki."

Blood rushed to Natsuki's cheeks as she glared at the doctor. "God damn it." She snapped abashed, "don't say shit like that. This is serious. We don't have time to waste."

"We?" Shizuru asked, grinning, "What do you mean by 'we?' I have plenty of time to waste. I'm stuck here in this cell, my dear. Plenty of time…to kill. I wonder, how much time our Hime Killer have till he decides he wants to kill again." Natsuki tried not to fling herself off the chair and punch the glass. Shizuru was talking about peoples' lives here! She was talking about lives as if they were meaningless.

"You fucking sicko." Natsuki hissed, anger possessing her before she could stop it, "These are human beings that the Hime Killer is murdering." "Oh really?" Shizuru laughed, the sound startling Natsuki-it was like a beautiful stream flowing, "I thought he was murdering sables and martens. I am aware of what this killer is doing, Natsuki. But I am survivor as well as a predator." Shizuru grinned at Natsuki, making the agent stiffen, "After all, I'm sure you've heard just how long it took for that great heroic agent Nakamura to catch me."

Natsuki felt pure disgust enter her gut. Yes, she had heard how long it took for the authorities to find her. Natsuki hadn't even thought about entering as an agent yet. She had been what? Twenty? Nineteen? Eighteen when Shizuru had finally been caught? And Shizuru had been a killer for years.

Twenty-eight. Shizuru was four years older than Natsuki. The twenty-four-year old agent let out an angered breath. "Peoples' lives aren't toys, Shizuru." Natsuki snapped, "I know you're trapped here, but women are being hunted out there. Now either you can stay in this cell and rot and mope and pretend that you're in control, when we both know you're anything but, or you can help me find out who this scumbag is and I might be able to get you a bigger cell and more stuff to do, alright? What is it gonna be, psycho?"

Shizuru looked back at Natsuki grin stretching and Natsuki wondered if she went too far with the name calling. But the doctor waved a hand, "Well, talk to Ms. Yuuki first. She's the one that arranges everything. Shouldn't she be notified if I'm going to be rewarded? Talk to her, see what she says and then come back. I'll talk about it then."

Natsuki glared. Unbelievable. "Fine." She grumbled, getting up, "Your majesty." She stalked down the hall, only to halt when she heard Shizuru call down, "Oh, Natsuki?" Teeth grinding, Natsuki whirled, glaring at where Shizuru was leaning once again against the glass, looking out at the agent. Shizuru smiled at Natsuki's angered look. "Natsuki, I just want to tell you, your blood smells exquisite." Natsuki didn't move for a second. Those hypnotizing red orbs kept themselves on her, keeping her frozen. Natsuki wanted to keep her anger. Anger was a weapon to fight against fear and frustration and pain.

But the way Shizuru was staring at her….

 _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump._

 **So yeah. Sorry, I know this was a rough chapter. I have to warn you now, it's not going to get any better from here. People who are familiar with this story know this. More trigger warnings ahead.**

 **And for anyone wondering, sables and martens are native Japanese animals. Cute little creatures that are relatives.**


	3. Another one?

**Trigger warnings for traumatic memories, murders and an implied abduction at the end.**

 **Chapter 3: Another One?**

"Absolutely not." Nao said, crossing her arms over her chest, green eyes stricter than Natsuki had ever thought the redhead capable of. "Look," Natsuki began, "I don't like it either, but if it saves a few people, then is it really such a sacrifice to give Fujino a few rewards like more books, a bigger cell or more music? Would that really be so bad?"

Nao snorted, "You've never had to deal with subordinates or prisoners, have you, Kuga? The moment you give in to what they want, you're in their power. It's better this way. Fujino needs to know her place. If we start rewarding her, she'll think she's a blasted queen. She's arrogant enough as it is. Just trust me on this one, Kuga, you've already seen what she's like, you don't want her walking around thinking that she owns the facility and that people need to wait on her hand and foot."

Natsuki wanted to argue. But the problem was that she saw where Nao was coming from. The redhead had a facility to run and very, very disturbed residents in it to keep from getting out of control. A captain had to be very careful about what decision they made when piloting a ship, unless they wanted that ship to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Nao Yuuki maintained an existence with a bunch of psychos and murderers, it was likely she needed several restrictions on all of them if she wanted any peace and quiet around here.

"I get that." Natsuki said at last, "I actually do, but maintaining control or not, there still might be a chance that she knows a thing or two on how to stop the Hime Killer. They're both brilliant murderers and it took years for Fujino to be caught. I don't think it's unlikely that she could give us some insight. And again, Yuuki, women's lives are at stake here. Even if we are giving into Fujino's requests, what if it really did save lives. Well?" Natsuki stepped forward, determined green eyes meeting Nao's and the redhead waited a few moments before sighing. "Alright." She said, surprising Natsuki. As Nao turned to the disturbed looking Ms. Omori, Nao glanced her green eyes back to the agent and smirked, words coming out almost as slyly as Shizuru's, "You're a surprising woman, Kuga. After finding what I heard you found in that garage, I'd have thought you would have run for the hills by now."

Natsuki kept her voice under control at _that_ being brought up, "I'm doing my job, Yuuki, as you are. I'm trying to keep the people safe. There was a murder, it's my job to find out who did it and why and who they'll go after next. So, I'll ask this, I'm willing to sacrifice my pride for the people, are you?"

A look of anger crossed Nao's face for a moment. "Don't question my morals, Kuga." The redhead warned. Her dark look softened as she smirked, "But I see your point. Very well. I'll consider it and discuss what I can with Fujino and see if we can come up with some sort of understanding and compromise." Her smirk became wide, like she was an all too satisfied cat, "I think I'm starting to like you…Natsuki." Nao cocked her head, watching Natsuki with a little _too_ much interest. Far more than the agent would have liked. Wanting to move onto a different topic, quickly, Natsuki spoke, "That's good to hear. Thank you. Now, I'm going to go back to my station for a bit. See if there's any news on our killer. Good luck with Fujino, Yuuki."

"Of course. Thank you." Nao chuckled, still holding that disconcerting smile on her face, "And I hope you're not going to regret this, Natsuki." Nao said Natsuki's name with a slight purr that made Natsuki almost shiver as she turned and a little too quickly, walk out the door and head towards her bike. That was two people now that seemed to insist on calling her by her first name. One of them was a cannibalistic murderer. The other was a questionable facility director that just might be flirting with her.

Natsuki strained a bit as she straddled her bike, picking up her helmet, ignoring the stinging that ran through her right leg as its wound came into contact with the bike. Boy, Yuuki wasn't kidding. She'd need a lot of luck, indeed. All the luck in the world.

 **Next Scene**

 **The Station**

Natsuki barged through the glass and metal doors of the station quickly, avoiding the stares of all the officers. She heard choruses of mumbles. As she passed, trying to block out her thoughts of the gossip her interaction with Fujino must have caused. She heard the occasional whispers of, _"Kami, could you imagine talking to that monster?"_

" _Kuga's really in deep shit now. I don't know if she can handle this."_

 _"And she's still a trainee, right? Kami, what was Tate thinking, throwing a trainee to a monster like Fujino?"_

" _I really feel bad for Kuga. Damn, and she already gets nightmares, right?"_

That was the last straw. She whirled around, glaring at the different clusters of agents, spitting out furiously, "Dammit, if you have something to say, say it to my Kami damn face! Don't mumble behind my back like a bunch of fucking hens!"

Each group of agents jumped, faces growing pale, eyes going wide. Natsuki huffed out and whirled back around, storming down the hall again.

Her stomping feet led her to the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Mai and Mikoto there. Their backs were turned to her. "Well, I'll just assume you guys live here from now on." She laughed, making them both jump. They turned around, startled and Mai grinned. "Natsuki," She exclaimed, running over, dropping her wooden spoon on the counter and wrapping her arms around her friend. "How are you Natsuki?" The at first startled agent stepped away, exhaling. She shouldn't be surprised at this reaction. Mai was always glad to see her, but this overly affectionate reaction was inevitable. She could only imagine how frightened for her Mai must have been when she was first told by Natsuki herself who exactly she was going to go interview.

"I'm alright, Mai, honest." Natsuki stepped back, smiling. "Everything's fine. I mean, there's a decapitated guy, but you don't have to worry about me. We'll figure out who this psychopath is." Mai nodded, but Natsuki could see the doubt in those lavender orbs. Not that she blamed the young cook. Natsuki was interacting with an extremely dangerous criminal. Mai had every reason to be afraid. "Come on," Natsuki said, nodding to the naturally ever hungry Mikoto, "I think this one is starting to feel the repercussions of not eating fifty times a day. I'll have some chicken teriyaki if you two will."

Both Mikoto's and Mai's faces lit up with big grins as Mai turned back to the stovetop. Natsuki kept her smile on her face, hoping that she exuded the opposite of how she actually felt.

After the teriyaki was finished and all three women were eating the meat off the bones quickly, the rapid sounds of running came from the hall. At the startling sound of multiple people racing towards them, Natsuki turned, curious, half-eaten chicken in her mouth, as she saw nearly eight officers bolting past the kitchen doorway frantically. She turned and looked at the others. Mikoto was still scarfing up the chicken, but Mai had the same stunned and curious expression on her face as Natsuki had.

"What the hell?" Natsuki mumbled, putting her chicken down and getting up, slowly walking out into the hall towards Tate's office, which was where the eight officers had run. The door had been swung open and five men and three women were standing in front of Tate's desk, all huffing and wobbling in their exhaustion. One of them leaned forward and it looked like he was whispering. Natsuki narrowed her eyes, watching. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been too quietly said, since Tate was jumping up out of his seat, face ashen as he stared, stricken, down at the trainees. "Are you serious?" He asked, voice shaking.

One of the men nodded. Tate breathed out, circling the desk. "Alright then. Get everyone out and investigate the scene. Now!" Tate grabbed his dress suit jacket from where it hung on the wall, walked to the door and stopped, eyes finding Natsuki. He met her eyes and Natsuki understood almost immediately when she saw the amount of dread and horror in her chief's orbs.

"There's been another one, hasn't there?" Natsuki said, feeling an icy chill, already knowing the answer.

Tate nodded, grimacing.

 **Next Scene**

 **Crime Scene**

Standing under the towering oak, staring down at the blood beginning to pool around the large, thick roots, Natsuki felt all the breath leave her. It felt like a large sheet of ice had wrapped around her body, encasing her. The completely white faced girl, lying in the ivy, arms splayed out in front of her, ivy tangling with her white fingers. Natsuki felt like her throat was completely dry. There was blood leaking out of nearly every stab wound, dripping down from the girl's chest and stomach. Long, pink hair in sausage like shapes lay out on the ground to mingle with the ivy. The black leather clothing clinging to the agent's body, barely kept her warm. Then again, Natsuki knew that it probably wouldn't even have mattered if it were eighty degrees out. It felt like every blood cell in her body was freezing. She heard what the other officers had said. A _body_ was found, but he looked disturbed, even more than given the context when asked what the condition the body was in. Natsuki's eyes flew over the decimated body. So far, she was counting at least a dozen stab wounds. The agent felt her stomach churn again. Dear Kami, this psycho was just getting worse and worse. The term "escalating" couldn't be used here. He had escalated way, way too far for him to escalate any further.

She heard the crunching of leaves and plants behind her and she turned to see Midori walk over. The dark red-haired woman gave a strained smile as she looked down at the body, "I can't believe this." Midori said sadly, "This is the sixth one. He's getting better at making it last longer from the looks of it. I wonder how long it took her to-" As if realizing what she was saying, Midori took a worried look at Natsuki and looked away. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't talk like that. We don't know anything till Yoko looks at her."

"Yeah. Definitely." Natsuki said, unsure of what else to say in a situation like this. She had heard about all the other victims of the Hime Killer, but she had never personally _looked_ at his work. It was eerie. And while this certainly wasn't the first time Natsuki had ever seen a dead body before, (even the decapitated man that she had found earlier hadn't been the first), but there was something monumentally unsettling here. This wasn't just a random guy who just happened to kill someone one day. This wasn't manslaughter or a gang member. She was looking at the body of the victim of one of the currently most famous serial killers in Japan right now. At that moment, Natsuki felt like she was as small as an ant, under a glass with this body, that felt bigger and bigger the more she stared at that cold, blue-white, lifeless face and the multiple stab wounds.

Midori must have seen something in Natsuki's face that she didn't like at all, because she quickly said, "Natsuki, how about you go get Yoko, tell her we found the body. That it's ready for her examination." Natsuki looked at Midori, eyes narrowing in confusion. Shouldn't Yoko have been here by now, anyway? It took Natsuki a moment to realize why Midori wanted her to go get Yoko. She released a sigh. "I'm not a child, Midori," She said, more anger in her voice than she meant, "I can handle seeing a body."

Midori shrugged. "I know that. I'm just concerned, okay?" Natsuki snorted. "Fine, whatever." She stalked off to the other car where Yoko was sitting. She opened the door, ignoring the startled, curious looks she was getting. "Yoko." Natsuki said, keeping the annoyance to a minimum in her voice, "Midori thinks you should look at the body. The sooner it's looked at here, the sooner it'll be under a sheet and I won't have to look at it anymore."

Yoko, the beautiful doctor of their station, with short, black curls of hair, smiled up at Natsuki, a bit of sympathy in those blue eyes-sympathy that Natsuki was honestly getting sick and tired of. "I imagine. I'll scope out the body. I'll go and get the crew." Yoko stepped out of the vehicle and after giving Natsuki one last concerned look, she turned and walked towards the rest of the paramedics, usually waiting for their medical instructions, now for the day, sadly to be awaiting their instructions on bagging a body.

Natsuki watched as the doctor went and spoke to them and two of these men nodded and brought out a gurney with a big black body bag. Even knowing that of course the body bag was needed after seeing the actual victim, seeing the body bag; there was almost a finality to it. There wasn't even a chance of deluding herself. This girl was dead. Deader than dead, if that made sense. Even seeing the real dead body didn't compare to the sense of doom Natsuki felt at seeing that body bag as it was carried over. Natsuki's breath was caught in her throat and she felt her heart beat wild again. It was silly, wasn't it? Though she was still a trainee, she had seen other bodies before. She had seen other body bags before. But seeing this one now, for some bizarre reason….

Natsuki's throat went dry as her heart raced, mind falling back to a place she'd rather not dive back into ever again.

 _Standing outside of the house. Seeing her father glaring at the front lawn, bottle hanging in his hand by its neck as he glowered. Paramedics raised the deceased onto the gurney, her body inside the black bag. They zipped the bag up, and Natsuki knew with a horrid cry ripping from the young girl's throat, that she'd never see her mommy again._

" _No!" The small six-year-old screamed, struggling in the police officers' grasps. Don't take my mommy away! No! Mommy! Mommy! Leave mommy alone! Mommy!"_

Natsuki swallowed again, feeling the squirming coldness bleed through her. She needed to get away from this right now. Maybe, for once those looks of sympathy had been a real warning. Maybe for once she actually was in over her head. At least in this situation. Feeling hot tears begin to well in her eyes she turned away and walked briskly to where Tate stood, observing the crime scene. He caught sight of Natsuki rushing over and upon seeing her face, he pushed himself off where he was leaning against the cop car.

"Natsuki?" He asked, mouth parted in a show of concern, "Are you alright." Natsuki shook her head, the back of her hand going to her eyes and wiping away the moisture. "Yeah." She grumbled unconvincingly, "I'm fine. I'm just fine. I need to get out of here. I'll see you guys back at the station, okay?"

Tate hesitated, trying to search Natsuki's face for answers, but he nodded as if resigning himself to respecting the dark-haired trainee's privacy. "Alright." He said, glancing back at the scene as the body was lifted onto the gurney and into the black bag, "Go on. We'll be back in at least a half hour." Natsuki nodded, saying no more as she walked by him and went to her bike where it leaned against a tree, the sloshing of the small wheels of the gurney against the wet mud sounding like the grinding of a horrible beast ready to pounce her from behind.

 **Next Scene**

 **The Station**

The group stood in the medic center, surrounding the metal slab where the black body bag lay. Natsuki knew that she probably couldn't have stood and stared at the body bag for more than a few seconds, since it was only two minutes or so ago when the officers had brought it in, but it felt like a century since she first laid eyes on the thing. She turned and was relieved when she saw Yoko Sagisawa sitting back against her chair, facing the computer on the other side of the room. Natsuki breathed out and turned away from the sight that had transfixed her for who knew just how long and walked to Yoko. "Hey, Yoko," Natsuki spoke up, smiling as the dark-haired doctor turned to her, surprised. "Natsuki." The doctor said sadly, "Are you alright? I know things have been really rough lately." Natsuki rolled her eyes, ignoring the still stinging, morbid horror and fixation that had been grasping her since first getting involved in this case and first meeting Fujino. "Come on, Yoko, not you too! I'm tougher than that." She grinned, "For Kami's sake, you patched my leg up when I was shot!" Yoko winced at the loud remark. "Don't joke about that, Natsuki." Yoko said, smiling sadly, "I know you braved the surgery even though you were a rookie, but you _know_ how much blood you lost."

Natsuki sighed, eyes downcast, guilt beginning to set in. Of course she had known. She had hoped her joke would lighten the mood. Clearly, Yoko would have none of it. Being shot a year ago….it had been one of the few times Natsuki had been sure that she was going to die. She had lost so much blood. On her left leg, there was a bullet mark where the projectile had hit. Around that and along the length of her leg, there were the slice marks from the surgery Yoko did to save Natsuki's life. For a second, Natsuki thought about making an incredibly inappropriate remark about how now she had scars for both of her legs, one from the surgery needed for the bullet and the other for the slice from the door of the garage she had snuck into, but kept her mouth shut. Yoko was already upset, she didn't need to get more worked up because Natsuki liked to occasionally ruffle feathers.

"Right, sorry." Natsuki finally offered, "It's just, I feel like I need to lighten the mood. You know, having to talk with Fujino and all." Yoko nodded, still grim faced. "I _do_ know. I'm sorry that you were the one selected for this." Natsuki shrugged, walking over and sitting down in the chair next to the medic, "It's alright. I'm an officer and if I want to go anywhere or do my actual job, I'll do this. It might save lives and put this freak behind bars."

Yoko shook her head. "It's more than that. I saw how you were when we found this girl's body, Natsuki." Natsuki froze, keeping her new planned jokes at bay instantly. "I don't know what you're talking about." Natsuki snapped, knowing that her words were in no way convincing any more than they had been to either Midori or Tate. She was just glad that Mai and Mikoto were off in town for a lunch date and weren't here to see this body. Mai got neurotic enough as it was when it came to death. And Natsuki hated seeing how depressed the orange-haired girl got around the subject.

Yoko shook her head. "Don't try to hide it, Natsuki. You've been shaken up for a while now. I can't blame you. I don't think anyone in this station blames you."

At Yoko giving her a sympathetic look to the younger officer, Natsuki finally couldn't deal with it. "So, what's the verdict on this newest victim? At least, based on what you saw at the crime scene?" Natsuki asked abruptly, wanting to move to another subject, preparing herself for the worst. Yoko's grimace told her that she was right to worry. The black-haired physician sighed, accepting Natsuki's diversion from the previous discussion, "It's bad. I shouldn't have to tell you that. But it's bad. For starters, the stab wounds are shallow and have deliberately avoided certain arteries and vital organs. In other words, I think our Hime Killer has learned how to avoid killing the victim immediately and wants to make it last as long as possible."

Natsuki felt the blood drain her. She shouldn't have been surprised by this, she knew that. The other bodies as run by in other stations had reported the botched attempts by the Hime Killer, as described by Yoko now, only this time being pulled off successfully. But this was the real deal. The excelled masterpiece. The Hime Killer had finally kept a person alive, killing them slowly, painfully and horrifically. Hearing that, seeing the "body of work" that the Hime Killer had left in the woods, meant one thing that Natsuki was all too familiar with when reading on other killers for her classes before entering as a trainee. The Hime Killer was going to be far better at his "work" than before and leave an even bigger, "perfected" string of bodies before they could find him.

"Fuck." Natsuki growled, unable to think of saying anything else to describe how she felt about this. Yoko smiled grimly and nodded. "You could say that. That certainly sums it up." Yoko glanced at the body bag and was about to speak again, when the silver doors of the morgue swung open, and Tate stepped through, looking around urgently, only stopping in his movements when he found Natsuki at the computer with Yoko. Natsuki faced him, blinking.

Tate looked at Natsuki imploringly. "Natsuki, I've been looking everywhere for you. Have you been here the whole time since we brought the body back?" Natsuki stiffened her shoulders and snapped, "I don't want to answer that. What did you want to talk to me about?" Tate said, preparing himself to talk about it, as if expecting the young officer to flip out if he said the wrong thing, "I know what I said the other night, but this is urgent. If Fujino knows anything at all, we have to know. And we have to know now. The Hime Killer has escalated. If there was ever a time that any knowledge of someone like him might come in handy, it would be now." Natsuki still felt queasy as she knew that she was about to be sent to Shizuru Fujino again and took one more glance at the body bag, containing the cadaver. She turned back to Tate, emerald eyes steeling. "Alright. I'll go now."

 **Next Scene**

 **The Facility**

"And I'm sure you've already heard about the _pleasant_ find brought to us today." Natsuki said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood in front of the instructor of the facility, whose rare somber expression was becoming more frequent.

"Ah yes," Nao said, voice becoming grim as she looked back at Omori, "The newest victim. I believe thought to be Shiho Munakata." "Not believed," Natsuki said, swallowing the bile as she thought of the pale, dead face in her mind, "Confirmed."

"I see." Nao nodded. She hesitated a few more moments, glancing at Omori before finally chuckling. "Alright. If only it will prevent me from having to deal with any accusations from your station or newscasters that we did anything wrong, I'll go along. But be aware, I don't like this at all." Natsuki let out a grim laugh, "And you think _I_ do? I'm speaking with a serial killer. I have to speak with her every chance I get to find another one. And a cannibal, no less. So just to tell _you,_ Yuuki, I don't like this any more than you do, but I'm bearing with it, because it's the right thing to do."

Nao's sardonic grin was back. "Ah, please tell me," The redhead laughed, "Do you believe in fairytales too? Do you think if you're a good person, you'll go to Heaven? In the real world, Kuga, everyone only looks out for themselves. If they ever do anything good for someone else, it's because they get something out of it. You're not here because you'll solve a crime and save someone, you're here because you want information to solve a crime and get a raise and a promotion. Nothing more." Fire churned through Natsuki and her teeth were bared as she took a menacing step towards Nao.

"How fucking dare you?!" She spat, "You don't know that! How dare you assume that about me! Not everyone is as selfish as you are, Yuuki!" Nao's grin stretched and Natsuki fought down the need to lash out-including physically. Right now, she had to see Fujino. No choice. She nearly growled as she aimed for the door behind Yuuki.

Natsuki stormed past the smirking Nao, making the redhead lose her haughty expression. "Kuga?" She asked, stunned at the enraged grimace. "Don't fuck with me right how, Yuuki." Natsuki snapped. As she strode towards the hallway door to Shizuru's cell, she called back to Nao, "We are _going_ to make arrangements with Fujino about her cell. Whether you like it or not."

Not bothering to hear Nao's reaction, Natsuki swung the door open and headed down the stairs to the staff.

A few minutes later she was in the hall, focused on Shizuru's cell and stormed towards the end of the hall. She ignored all the deranged screams of the other prisoners and finally stopped in front of the glass wall that separated her from the cannibal, eyes falling on the tall, voluptuous murderer.

"My, my, my," Shizuru chuckled as Natsuki stood, glaring coldly at cell, and turned her head when the navy haired woman was inches from the foldup chair. Shizuru looked concerned oddly when she saw Natsuki's slouched shoulders, furious expression and pale face. As Natsuki glowered at the doctor, Shizuru nodded, understanding. "There's been another one, hasn't there?"

Natsuki let out a huge breath and it felt like all the life was leaving her in that breath. "Yeah." She answered as she sat down, almost disgusted with herself that she found it relieving that a deranged monster could understand her just by looking at her, when almost no one else seemed to.

"I see." Shizuru said, moving so that she was sitting at the end of the cot, feet hitting the ground. She eyed Natsuki. "I see it made an impact on you. Just as Jiro's death made an impact. You seem very sensitive to brutal deaths. A surprising thing in your line of work, don't you think?" Natsuki snapped accusatory green eyes up at Shizuru. "Leave it alone, doc. I'm not in the mood." She warned. The wheat-haired woman smirked. "What's the fun of that? Yes, it is strange. Have you never seen something like that? Or…is it because you're _very_ familiar with brutally decimated corpses that you're so sensitive?"

Immediately, that alien, disturbing relief that had settled in Natsuki's chest fled her body and she stared hard at the cannibal, flashes of her mother's corpse being carried off in a body bag flowing through her mind again.

"I'm warning you, Fujino," She growled, not caring about the frown that her use of Shizuru's last name brought, "Don't start. You want me to call you by your first name? You want me to tolerate you? Stop this conversation, now. Don't try to dive into my mind, or I swear to Kami, I fucking swear, that I'll get up, turn and walk away, and we'll try to find out who the Hime Killer is without your help." Even as she said it, Natsuki wasn't sure she could back up her threat, but she knew she must have sounded compelling enough, because Shizuru's shoulders slumped and the wheat-haired woman sighed, nodding. "I understand." She said. "Very well, Natsuki. I will not bring it up again. At least, concerning the body. I'm curious about you, but I will not ask about the victim. Is that fair?"

Natsuki hesitated, knowing that she was about to enter into a possible verbal landmine, depending on what loophole Fujino might try to create or abuse, but she'd accept it, for now. She nodded. "Okay." She submitted. "We can continue." Natsuki found the words coming out carefully, "So the Hime Killer has escalated."

Shizuru lifted her head. "Escalated?" She parroted, "How?"

Natsuki shook her head, as if trying to debate to herself how to explain without showing just how disturbed she actually was. Literally a second ago, hadn't she just gotten Fujino off her back about the morbid subject?

"He's learned how to keep a victim alive, even after stabbing them multiple times." Natsuki said, watching Shizuru's face for any kind of reaction. Eyebrows lifted, but that was about it. Shizuru inhaled as she spoke, "That is troubling, I must say. You believe there may be many more deaths to come, now that this killer has made…how shall I say it? Progress?"

Natsuki ignored the sick feeling in her stomach at how the former doctor had phrased it. Progress was such a ridiculous word to use in the content of a murder, but it was somehow fitting. Perhaps that was exactly how the Hime Killer viewed his new kill. As "progress." Maybe that was indeed what it was, since perhaps this was his intention all along.

"I guess, if you want to see it like that." Natsuki said at last, glaring down at the cold, filthy cement floor. She looked back at the doctor who had tucked her hands under her chin and her elbows on her legs, the cannibal's crimson eyes fixed on the agent. Natsuki felt her heart race again. What was the cannibal thinking? Just what was this…. _being_ thinking? She would have shuddered at the thought of trying to understand a murderer and cannibal's thoughts, but strangely, Natsuki understood why there was such a fascination in serial killers. Why serial killers had so many fan letters sent to them.

They were fascinating, weren't they? They weren't tigers, sharks, cobras or bears. They didn't _need_ to kill in order to eat and survive. They needed to kill for a whole different reason. What could make a person do something like what these killers did? What could make Shizuru Fujino murder and devour as many as thirty-three _known_ victims as she had? What could make the Hime Killer do what he had done?

In this strange, bizarre, twisted wonderment that ran through Natsuki's brain, staring at Shizuru who simply stared back, the dark-haired trainee knew that she wanted to ask more of the doctor. So much more.

She also realized what she was thinking and almost laughed at the macabre nature of her thoughts.

Oh yes, she needed a lot of luck. She needed more than a world's worth of luck if she was truly starting to be fascinated by serial killers, didn't she? No. If she was fascinated by murderers like Fujino and the Hime Killer, she was far too gone by this point for any amount of luck to help her now.

Natsuki stared at Fujino's red eyes, and more than sure that the doctor might know what the agent was thinking, Natsuki quickly brought up her next question, wanting to distract the cannibal, "So, Shizuru. As I'm sure you've guessed, I want to get more focus on this killer after this atrocity. Ready to answer more questions?"

After a few, unsettling moments, Shizuru dropped her arms to her legs and smiled. "That's why you're here, isn't it?" Shizuru chuckled, "So, go ahead, Natsuki. Ask whatever you want. It's another story on whether or not I will answer you, but ask away, and depending on the question, I will answer as well and as honestly as I can."

Natsuki almost found a chuckle of her own bubbling in her throat. She had to wonder just what Shizuru's version of "honestly" meant. What was the _moral_ code of a serial killing cannibal? Natsuki really wasn't sure she wanted to know, despite her new intrigue with the woman. But she knew she had a job to get done.

"Alright," She finally said, "Here's my next question."

 **Next Scene**

 **Tokyo, Taito**

Sitting in an alleyway was a large, mostly obscured grey van. It sat between two large buildings, barely looked at as the pedestrians walked on by, concerned only with their daily lives. Too busy with their own boring jobs and lives at home to notice the man standing next to the van, leering out at them.

They didn't notice him, or the young girl with short brown hair and glasses coming towards the alley. And they certainly didn't notice the man slipping slowly out of the alley, looking at the bespectacled woman or that he was gripping a white piece of cloth soaked in chloroform.

The man narrowed his eyes at the oblivious brown-haired girl. This girl. This one. She would be his next prey to fall under his knife.

 **Author's note:**

 **Okay, sorry for the delay. I've been busy, but here's an update. Hope you liked it and that it officially creeped you out. As I said before, be patient. I lost a lot of the work I did because of a problem with my previous computer, so again, I'm doing a lot of this from scratch and memory. Please be patient.**


	4. Be Careful who your Friends are

**Trigger warnings for panic attacks, murderers, animal abuse, abduction and traumatic memories.**

 **Chapter 4: Watch your friends even more closely than your Enemies:**

"Alright. Here's my next question." The agent said carefully.

Natsuki faced the lunatic, leaning back against the foldup chair. Her question came out of her mouth, though she wasn't sure what possessed her to say her next words, "So we know that he gains pleasure from watching his victims die slowly. But do we don't have any other clues besides that." As she said it, Natsuki could just feel the embarrassment taking hold of her. What must people think, knowing that people actually _did_ stuff like this? Human beings were a complicated species, certainly. But it took a particular type of person to be able to kill people slowly or eat them. It took another particular type of person to take an interest in the person that had committed these acts.

But this wasn't interest, was it? This was simply Natsuki investigating so that she could track down a serial killer.

"But here's the question I have for you specifically, Shizuru." Natsuki continued, apprehensive, to say the least, somehow gathering up the will enough to stare the psychopath straight in those red eyes, "How did _you_ choose your victims? And why did you even start in the first place?"

Shizuru smirked, as if expecting this. "That's two questions. You want me to give you information that might help you find the Hime Killer. I'll answer these questions, but how about this? I'd like to give you the answers you seek, but I'd like something out of it in return."

A grimace marred Natsuki face at this. Teeth clenched. And this was what she got for giving a psychopath the benefit of the doubt. "What kind of 'something' are you talking about?" Natsuki asked finally, right blue eyebrow raised. Shizuru smiled. "Oh nothing too valuable. Simply information. Information in return for information. A… _quid_ _pro quo_ , if you like." Natsuki sucked in her breath. That was not good. Shizuru wanted information. But what information was she talking about? Information about the case? Information about the officer that had put her in jail? What? Natsuki sat back further into the chair, the metal back almost digging into her spine.

"What information do you want, Shizuru?" Natsuki asked, turning her head, green eyes fixed on the cannibal in caution, "What kind of information would possibly serve you here in prison?" Shizuru smirked, getting up from the cot and walked around the cell, walking to one wall, to the next. Pacing, and not once looking at Natsuki, Shizuru said in an very calm, soft voice, "It's not about what will serve my purpose, Natsuki. This isn't usefulness. This is curiosity. Gathering personal stories. That was after all what I did as a psychiatrist. No Natsuki, I don't want any particular information that will benefit me, only my curiosity. I want information on _you_ , my dear."

Those words threw Natsuki for a loop. Her mouth shut hard. Her head swung back as she stared hard at the criminal. No words came out of her mouth for at least a minute. Had she really heard that correctly?

"Information…on me?" Natsuki managed out at last, feeling her throat tighten, "Why? Why would you want that? What would you get out of knowing things about me?"

Shizuru's smirk widened as she leaned back against the dark, steel wall. "Didn't we establish this already? I'm a psychiatrist. Or _was_ a psychiatrist. Though I cannot work anymore, a leopard can't change its spots. It might have been a cover for my…other activities, but one does get into the habit of digging into peoples' personal lives, when that's their job, and when they've done it for a long time. And I was in the psychiatric field for quite a while."

Natsuki tensed. She supposed that that made sense. A psychiatrist, even an imprisoned one that could no longer work, _would_ still inquire about peoples' private lives, wouldn't they? It was a logical answer, but even as Natsuki accepted it, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Whatever Shizuru's reasoning, she could not give the cannibal that kind of information. She could not. She felt the words slowly crawling up out of her mouth. "What personal stuff do you want to know? I know you said information about me, but what kind? What? Like, what I eat in the morning? How often do I sleep? Do I read a lot?"

"Oh nothing so trivial, I assure you." Shizuru chuckled. "And I hope you do not take offense, but I truly doubt you read a lot." Natsuki's eyes widened and she glared. "Hey!" She snapped, "I'll have you know, I read just as much as anyone." Shizuru chuckled, "Just kidding. Goodness. You're so easy to tease." Natsuki snorted. "Just tell me what you want. What kind of information could I give you that would make you this interested?"

"Quite simply," Shizuru said evenly, "A personal history. Information about your childhood. Nightmares. Hopes. Dreams. Your worst memory. Your happiest memory. If you moved and was it troubling for you or not. In other words Natsuki, I want very personal information about you. Do you understand now?"

Natsuki froze. An icy chill enveloped her as those crimson eyes bored into her. Her right foot had been tapping against the floor and her right thumb had been repeatedly thumping against her elbow as her arms were crossed over her chest. Both continuous movements were immediately ceased at the words she processed. Every movement in her body seemed to stop. Her heart didn't seem to be beating. She replayed what Shizuru just said. Personal information. Extremely personal. Hopes. Dreams. Traumatic childhood events. The very things that Tate had advised her _never_ to share with Shizuru.

And here Shizuru Fujino was, asking for them in return for information on how to stop a killer.

Natsuki replayed the past hours of the discovery of the body. It had to be worth it, right? Making this decision to trust a psychopath with her past so that they could prevent more murders. Natsuki suddenly remembered a play she had heard of from Aoi, who told her girlfriend, Chie about it. It was a western story about Christianity and the devil. "Faust." A story about a man that sold his soul to the devil, in exchange for great knowledge of the world. Here Natsuki was, demanding answers from the closest she suspected she'd ever know to the devil embodied, and for that, she had to give something in exchange. Something so dangerous and personal that were she not careful, Shizuru could claim her mind, even her very soul with that silver tongue of hers.

Natsuki liked to think of herself as a good cop. Even if she was just a cop in training. But this was too much. By telling Shizuru personal information, she was giving the psychopath access to her mind and even if Shizuru knew something important that could be compared with the Hime Killer case, that was a huge gamble. No. Natsuki made her mind up in that moment. No.

It was too risky. And for all she knew, this could be for nothing. Shizuru could genuinely not give any good information or just decide to cheat the agent.

"No." Natsuki said finally, eyes becoming steel as she resigned herself, "No. I'm not going to make that bargain. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear, but I can't. I'd feel safer if you didn't have any information on me. I know how you manipulate your victims, Shizuru." Natsuki nodded, trying to ignore the new chill down her spine at the darkening of Shizuru's red eyes in response to Natsuki's answer, "I know you value knowledge. It's your job. But I can't take that risk. I'm going to head back to my place. Unless of course, you actually are going to give me anything valuable?" She looked up, knowing not to expect anything.

She tried not to stiffen at how furious Shizuru's eyes were. Shizuru's face was normal, neutral as it had been before. But her eyes…they now smoldered a deep bloody almost black red. Natsuki's breath was caught in her throat, unable to say anything else. The air grew tense and cold. Natsuki almost couldn't hear the cries of the other prisoners in this hall.

Finally, Shizuru's next words came out, barely above a whisper, "You'd do that? You'd deny the chance to learn what you can and risk another woman getting murdered?" Natsuki winced, feeling guilt swell. But the accusation thrown at her motivated her anger-gave Natsuki fuel to say her next words. "See? That's what I'm talking about, Shizuru. You're so manipulative. If you react like this when I dare deny you the information you seek, what will you do when you have knowledge of my personal life and childhood? I can't take that chance. And you might not even give me what I need to catch the Hime Killer."

Shizuru's eyes narrowed. "I'm a woman of my word, Natsuki. For all my other flaws, I keep my word. I will give you whatever information you need."

Natsuki held up a hand, trying to ignore how shaky it was. "I'm not accusing you of trying to cheat me. I'm just saying that you might not know what I need for this case. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to head back to my room." She stood up weakly from the chair, nodding her head. "Good day, Shizuru." She turned and started walking past the cell when Shizuru's chuckle reached the agent's ears.

"Sweet dreams, detective." Shizuru chortled, "I know you must not get them often. Nice dreams, I mean." Natsuki whirled around, staring at the former doctor, shocked. The smirk on Shizuru's face widened, "I wonder…..do you still hear the howling in your nightmares? Do you still see your uncle and father in your head? Do you still see the wolves running?" Natsuki's eyes grew huge, not moving. Cold seeped throughout her frozen body. Shizuru's smile became nearly reptilian. "Do you understand, my dear? I _do_ know you. I'm already in your head. Do you want to know how? Don't you want to know how I know you? Don't you want to know how I know about the wolves? About Fenris? If you do, dear, then you may want to accept my conditions. I might be able to enlighten you about more than the Hime Killer case."

Though Natsuki's body couldn't move, her heart thundered. She heard its continual roar against her chest. Adrenaline must have been firing inside her. She could feel it. She could feel something almost electrical hurting her, burning her, telling her to run. Fast.

As if sensing her emotions, Shizuru came closer to the glass, cocking her head. "Are you afraid, Natsuki?" Shizuru purred, "You should be." Natsuki finally released the horrified gasp that had been lodged in her throat for almost two minutes now. She tore away from the cell, turning and running down the hall, bolting up the stairs, past the startled Sakomizu and the other staff, right into the lobby, past the shocked Nao who called after her as the agent ran out the door onto the green lawn in front of the institute.

Natsuki tore through the lawn, stopping in the middle and leaning over, palms of her hands planted on her leather bound knees, edges of her black leather dangling past her hands, head low, mouth agape, gasping for breath, hyperventilating. Her long blue hair cascaded down, hanging just above her hands and knees.

She panted, the relief of finally getting away from that animal almost not registering in her mind. Shizuru knew about the wolves. About Fenris. Somehow, Shizuru knew about the wolves and her nightmares. How? How? Kami, how?! Immediately, Natsuki's mind desperately tried to conjure up an explanation of how Shizuru knew that. Had someone from the station with intimate knowledge abut Natsuki paid Shizuru a visit? Why? Who would do that? Tate wouldn't take a chance like that. He'd be out of his mind to. And he was the only one besides her to know about that night.

Everyone else who knew was in jail.

With aches shooting through her, she lifted herself up, standing straight, finally feeling her heaving breaths softening. Okay. Okay. She was calming down now.

Her heart still hammered, almost painfully. She heaved out her last heavy breath.

She needed to get back to the room. She couldn't even look at this building anymore. Not without that taunting voice repeating itself in her head. _"Do you still hear the howling in your nightmares?"_

No. Tate hadn't known. He just...he couldn't have. And he wouldn't have done that to her, right?

Sucking in a dry breath, Natsuki fired off again fast towards her bike leaning against the wall of the next building. She didn't waste time jumping on, jamming her helmet on and starting the machine off, turning it around and driving down the road.

An hour past and Natsuki didn't let up her motorcycle's speed, not for a second, till she parked in the garage of the hotel and shot off to her room. She got to her room and slammed the door, throwing her bike keys onto the sofa chair, pulling her jacket off and tossing it onto the chair as well. She finally collapsed, sitting down on the bed then dropping on her back, eyes fixed to the white painted ceiling.

Shizuru Fujino, a murderer, a cannibal, the killer of over thirty victims somehow _knew_ about the wolves. Somehow knew about that night. That night of carnage. Of her damned uncle slaughtering the wolves like cattle. That night of blood, howls, getting lost in the woods and of pure terror. How?

Natsuki let out another breath, bringing her hands to cover her face in aggravation. "How is that fucking possible?" She mumbled raggedly, and as soon as the words were out, a terrifying thought struck her. She ripped her hands from her face, eyes widening. Had…had Shizuru somehow been there? Had Shizuru been there that night? Again, Natsuki was in the hallway, trapped with Shizuru, only held back by a thin panel of glass. Her heart raced. Cold fear took hold of the agent. She shivered. No. How was that possible? How had Shizuru been there? She couldn't have. That was insane. That had been almost two decades ago! Fifteen years ago. She had been eleven years old. That was crazy. That couldn't be. And Shizuru? Shizuru was now twenty-nine. Fifteen years ago. That would have made Shizuru fourteen.

Natsuki shot up from where she lay, heart thundering again. Had a fourteen-year-old had contact with her when she was only a child?! Her breath felt like it was burning. A terrible thought entered her head. When had Shizuru started murdering people? She was certain that there hadn't been that far a distance between when Shizuru murdered and when Shizuru had grown up. She was no psychologist, but she was pretty certain that when you were a psychopath, it affected you your whole life, or since childhood.

Her throat was dry. Had she had contact with a fourteen-year-old murderer, or a murderer in training when she was only eleven? Was that how Shizuru knew? Had she been there that night?

Horror. Cold waves of horror hit Natsuki nonstop, making her gasp again and pull herself off the bed, bolting to her bag on the floor, ripping it open and pulling out her laptop. No, she just couldn't let this go. She had to know. She turned her laptop on, went on the internet and instantly started typing in Shizuru Fujino's name.

Almost as soon as she finished typing out "Shizuru," the internet fired off with information about Shizuru Fujino the murderess. Natsuki felt a grim laugh burst from her throat. Well, it looked like Fujino was the most popular Shizuru on the internet. Any parent would make a bad choice to name their daughter Shizuru ever again after hearing the story of the cannibal.

Natsuki looked through articles and more articles of Shizuru Fujino. Each one revealed one gruesome crime after the next. A man getting his tongue ripped out. One made had his liver taken before his throat was ripped out. A man's heart and parts of his brain were removed. Natsuki could feel bile start to build, but kept it under control. She had to investigate further. No matter what. Fifteen years ago. That made the date then 2001. Deciding to narrow her search down, Natsuki typed in that year in the internet slot next to Shizuru's name and clicked "enter."

Hmm, through 1996 and 2002, Shizuru stayed with relatives who were friends with a wealthy family. The agent checked the location of the relatives' place. Her heart fell. In Osaka. Only a few miles from her father's brother's cabin. Her stomach turned. The same vicinity. The same time. She and Shizuru could have easily had made contact. Her wide eyes narrowed. Then why didn't she remember? She remembered almost everything about that night. The wolves. Her uncle and father's butchering of the animals. Running through the forest, unable to find a way out. The wolves shooting by her like terrified, furry missiles, trying to get away from the men abusing them. Duran. Her beloved wolf pup.

But she didn't remember Shizuru being there. Was it possible that given the close vicinity, Shizuru had just heard about it and was using it against Natsuki? Maybe she hadn't really been there at all. If there was a close proximity between the place where her uncle lived and where Shizuru's relatives lived, it wouldn't be so strange if Shizuru knew about it.

Still, the thought chilled her to the bones. If it had been anyone else-even the most normal person in the world who knew, it would still make Natsuki incredibly uncomfortable. A psychopath who had a huge body count behind her, made Shizuru knowing about what happened that night horrifying.

Natsuki shivered at the thought. Shizuru had something she could use against Natuski, either way. She needed to tell someone. No. She shuddered at the thought of someone else besides her, Shizuru and Tate knowing…wait…

Natsuki's face remained expressionless as her mind replayed what she just thought. Tate…

Wait. A. Second.

Tate had known about Natsuki's past. He had read up on her file before giving her the title of a special agent. Nothing odd about that. All chiefs of police had to review all their agents before giving them their badges.

But was it really a coincidence that Tate had chosen _Natsuki_ of all people to interview Shizuru? It suddenly seemed unlikely at best and damn near impossible at worst that Tate had sent Natsuki to Shizuru to get answers, when it was quite likely that Tate had studied Shizuru's history, just as much as he had studied Natsuki's.

Natsuki's already ashen face grew paler.

No...no, Tate hadn't done that to her. He couldn't have.

But even as she kept denying it, just like she had earlier today, the possibility that Tate hadn't known about a shared history seemed more and more unlikely.

It _w_ _asn't_ possible that Tate hadn't known that both Shizuru and Natsuki had been in the same location during those dates. It wasn't. It was his job to know. No matter how much she wanted to believe that Tate was innocent in this, she knew he wasn't. The realization stabbed at her gut like a knife.

Tate had known. And he had sent Natsuki into the lions' den knowing.

He had offered the bloodthirsty monster that was Shizuru Fujino a nice piece of juicy meat.

Tate had used her.

Natsuki felt her teeth clench and her blood turn cold. Her chief had used her. And she had actually thought that Tate had been her friend.

Pure rage fueled Natsuki as she snarled, throwing her shoe at the door of the room, letting out a scream that filled the room. How could he?! He had used her past against her and…

Unable to take it, Natsuki got up and stormed over to where her cell phone lay. She picked it up and dialed Tate's number. She held the phone to her ear and waited for several tense seconds.

A groggy voice answered after the third ring, "Hello? Kuga?"

"Don't fucking, 'Kuga' me, Tate!" Natsuki spat, "You used me! You manipulative piece of shit! You used me! You're just as bad as Shizuru is!"

Immediately, the tiredness was gone from Tate's voice and he suddenly sounded alarmed. "Wait, what? Kuga what are you talking abou-"

"Oh spare me!" Natsuki spat, face morphing into a sneer, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Osaka. The wolves. My uncle and father. Any of that ring a bell? Don't act innocent. We both know better. And you know what's even worse? Shizuru Fujino knows better too. Yeah. She told me. She knows. And you know what the worst part is? She was the one that told me the truth. _She_ was honest with me. _You_ weren't."

There was a cold, tense silence that carried on at both ends. No words were past between them for almost a minute before Tate's strained voice finally came out. "Natsuki," He spoke gently, making the agent scoff at his personal use of her name instead of her surname, "I…I know you must feel betrayed. But we had limited time. The Hime Killer had kidnapped a new woman when I called you in and now that woman is dead. Please understand, Natsuki. I was desperate."

"Quit making excuses." Natsuki snarled in disgust. "Just say it, okay? Just say that you knew. Be honest. Because a serial killer is being more honest than you are right now. And that, Tate? That's scary. So just say it."

Another unbearable silence past between them before Tate finally sighed, remorse clear in his voice, "I'm sorry, Natsuki. Yes. I knew. I knew that you and Shizuru were both in Osaka around the same time. And I know that there was a report of Shizuru wandering off into the woods around the night when your uncle and father hunted those wolves. I knew there was a possibility that Shizuru saw what happened or even that the two of you had met when you were children. Yes." There was an edge of self-disgust in Tate's voice at what he said next, "I knew that Shizuru would recognize you. Or that she'd recognize your name. I used you to get her interest. You were bait for her."

Natsuki's teeth clenched harder. To hear Tate actually say it…it just made her skin crawl.

"You disgusting, sociopathic piece of shit!" Natsuki snarled into the phone, wanting him to know just what kind of manipulative little fuck he was, "You're hunting these killers, but are you sure that you shouldn't be allying with them? You sure seem to want to give them exactly what they want. As far as I can tell, you and Shizuru are like two peas in a pod! And what the hell was that when you first called me into your office? Don't let her know anything personal? Don't tell her anything? I don't want Shizuru in my head? Well fuck you, Tate! Shizuru's already in my head! She knows me already! And you fucking _knew!_ "

Her loud, screaming tirade made Natsuki suddenly drained. She felt all the energy she had used today start to flee her. Her throat was hoarse. She didn't give a damn if people in the next rooms could hear her. She just didn't care. The chief that she had trusted had used her. Had practically _given_ her on a silver platter to a psychopath who might have had a history with her. As far as she was concerned, the whole world right now could kiss her ass.

"Go fuck yourself, Tate." She snapped weakly, "Just go fuck yourself. And don't ever act like you care about me again. I thought this whole time that it was Shizuru I had to be careful of. I had no idea that someone I considered a friend was the one that would fuck me over in the end. Kami, Tate. I was eleven. I was a child. How fucking could you?!"

Without waiting for an answer, Natsuki clicked the "end call" button and turned her phone off, huffing out furiously and throwing it at the cushion of the sofa chair. She glared at her computer, trying to ignore the sting of tears, storming over to it, shutting it off and dropping down on her side on the bed, staring at the white wall, depressed. She wasn't even going to bother turning out the lights. She just felt so fucking tired.

Minutes that felt like hours past on by and soon, Natsuki was dragged into sleep.

It was another night filled with howls, a sea of black, white and grey furry bodies shooting by, snarling, barely noticing the small child running between their bodies, looking over her shoulder, terrified of the monsters that were her murderous family coming to kill the wolves who had never done anything in their lives to hurt the humans chasing them. Fenris, the huge, beautiful, ebony wolf with furious blue eyes was amongst the fleeing wolves.

 **The Next Morning**

Natuski had woken, unsurprised by the nightmare and had swiftly showered, brushed her teeth, checked the bandages on her leg at the wound and then got dressed. She checked her phone, scowling when she saw the missed texts and calls.

Five missed calls from Tate and seven texts from him. She growled, stuffing the phone into her pocket.

She was not going to stand for his excuses.

She went out and headed for her bike. Getting on, she started it up and went for the institute.

She inhaled and breathed out heavily as she increased speed down the road.

Whether she liked it or not, she had to face Shizuru. Whatever it was, she and Shizuru obviously had a history. Tate's admittance confirmed it. And she couldn't go back to the station right now. She just couldn't.

She couldn't face Tate. She couldn't meet Mai's eyes and not tell her that the boy the redhead liked was a deceitful bastard. Hell, how was she supposed to face _any_ of her colleagues and friends, knowing what she knew about their chief?

Would he use any of them the same way he had used her?

She felt bile rise in her throat. Kami, what did it say about her that she felt more comfortable going back to the institute to face the monster that she had a history with and had been used as bait for, yet wasn't comfortable going back and facing the people that she once trusted most?

Natsuki let out a broken laugh as she rode along. Kami. Her life was so fucked up.

 **The institute**

Natuski had parked and walked into the institute, locking cold eyes with Nao's startled ones.

"Agent Kuga," Nao started, smiling pleasantly, "You left here in quite the hurry. What's wrong?" Nao's smile turned wicked, "Is Fujino giving you too much trouble? You poor baby-"

"Shut up, Yuuki." Natsuki's voice turned icy, "Just shut up." Nao's eyes narrowed and without saying another word, Natsuki stormed past her, ignoring Nao and Ms. Omori's stunned expressions as she walked down to Sakomiju, handing him the items that she remembered having to give him in the first place, unless she wanted the prisoners to grab ahold of them and without another word, marched forward, down the hall, ignoring the usual chorus of screams from the prisoners closing in on the foldup chair standing in front of the panel of glass, heart thundering in her chest as she got closer, feeling like she was walking closer and closer to a monster hidden in its hole, ready to jump out at her.

She let out a breath and finally got to the chair and turned, slowly, deep apprehension surging through her as her eyes landed on Shizuru, who was sitting on her cot, drawing on some butcher paper in her lap, a piece of blunt charcoal in the wheat-colored haired woman's hand.

Without even looking up, a dark smile crossed Shizuru's face.

"Hello, Natuski. I'm quite happy to smell your scent here again." The murderer purred.

Natsuki swallowed. She should have been disgusted and frightened by what Shizuru said, she knew, but after what she had heard and realized about Tate last night…what was the point? Was she sure that there was a difference anymore between the people she worked for and this monster? Where exactly did people draw the line when it came to morality? What Tate had done, had been utterly immoral, certainly. And if she reported it, it was likely that he could lose his job.

But he had done it to save peoples' lives. So that made him what exactly? A hypocrite? A manipulator? A liar, certainly.

Natsuki's eyes stayed fixed on Shizuru. And she found her words starting to come out, knowing that even though Shizuru wasn't facing her, she had the murderer's undivided attention, "I'll do it. I agree to your demands. I'll give you the information you want. If you can tell me. And help me find the Hime Killer." She added, blushing, almost feeling ashamed of her prioritizing her own need for personal information over information about the Hime Killer.

Shizuru simply nodded, still drawing. "What made you change your mind, dear?"

Natsuki's dark face remained cold. "I think you know. You can't possibly think that it's a coincidence that _I_ was the one that was sent to you, do you?"

Shizuru's smile widened and her shoulders shook as she chuckled. "Oh, heavens, no. I know it's not." Shizuru turned and put the drawing and charcoal down on the cot to the left of her, obscuring it from Natsuki's vision and turned back to Natsuki, red eyes glimmering with mischief, "But I was wondering when _you'd_ realize it."

Natsuki felt her throat go dry. Shizuru. Tate. They had both been messing with her.

Her teeth clenched again and she almost growled, "Then you know why. It's because I need _someone_ to be honest with me. And since that doesn't seem to be my chief who stationed me here, I need it to be you." Natsuki knew that she had just put her head on the chopping block. She knew.

She had handed herself over to the devil. Her soul was at the precipice of being in the devil's grasp. She was as fucked as Faust right now. Because these were exactly the words that Shizuru wanted to hear.

Shizuru almost grinned and Natsuki had to suppress another shudder as she sat down on the chair, facing the older woman. The maniac got up, pressing the palms of her hands together in delight. "Very well then," Shizuru chuckled, "It's quid pro quo time. Who shall start?"

Something about the way Shizuru's ruby red eyes gleamed predatorily told Natsuki that she had to run. Had to get up and bolt out of this institute fast. That she was in grave danger. That she was about to be snatched by the devil. But she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. Here she was. Faust. Ready to make a pact for all the knowledge she yearned for.

And the devil would provide…and then collect.

 **Author's note:**

 **Okay, sorry that took forever. I was not expecting it to take as long as it did. And yes, for those that have read it before, I gave that reveal a bit early. But I figured the other reveal had been a little too anticlimactic, so might as well just get that part of the secrecy over with.**

 **And for those wondering about the Hime Killer's new abducted victim, we'll get to that later. No one has called that in yet.**

 **And I know in earlier chapters, I made Shizuru a bit older than in this chapter. I changed her age so that she and Natsuki wouldn't have such a different age range, because of the implications that they met when they were children and didn't want to make their relationship even more creepy than it already is, you know?**

 **So their current age:**

 **Shizuru: 29**

 **Natsuki: 26**

 **Fifteen years ago:**

 **Shizuru: 14**

 **Natsuki: 11**


	5. Quid pro quo

**Trigger warnings for mentions of murderers and sexual abuse crimes and mental illness and violent crimes.**

 **Chapter 5: Quid Pro Quo**

She was stepping right off the edge of an airplane into the dangerous unknown. Natsuki knew that. She was walking a tightrope, with dozens of knives, blades upward toward her. She knew that too. Natsuki knew how much danger she was in by putting her trust in this woman. Shizuru was the epitome of danger and murder. A cannibal couldn't be called anything else. A cannibal that had as many victims under her belt as Shizuru did certainly couldn't be seen as anything else except dangerous.

Detrimental to the health of really everyone around the said cannibal.

Still, she had put herself more or less at Shizuru's mercy, because so far, Shizuru had been the only one honest to her. And Natsuki knew that she was allying herself with the worst evil. But she wasn't sure there was any option that Tate had left for her.

Still, Shizuru was the caged evil. There was an evil running freely out there, abducting and murdering women. Natsuki wanted to know her and Shizuru's history, but not at the expense of people's lives. The Hime Killer case came first.

"I will." Natsuki said, in response to Shizuru's haughty questioning of "who will start."

"Here's my question," She said, "And you'd better answer as honestly as you can, Shizuru. As much as I want to know how the hell you know me, I have to find the Hime Killer first. We'll deal with that first. Firstly, how does he choose his victims?" Shizuru nodded, giving a smile that for once wasn't threatening. "Ah. That's a good question. And a vital one. Well, let me ask you this. What were all the things the women had in common? I mean, besides how they died or the condition in which they were found?"

Natsuki narrowed her eyes, thinking. That had been what she and her station had been trying to figure out for a while. It was why she had asked Shizuru in the first place. "Come now," Shizuru quipped, now smirking, "There has to be something. Did they all live in the same place? Was there a shared physical trait between them? Or maybe a circumstantial similarity? You and your station, I suspect, know more than you think. The answers are right in front of you. You just don't know how to look at it. Now think. What were some similarities? If any that immediately come to mind?"

Natsuki bit her lip, not sure what to make of this. She shrugged. "They all lived in Tokyo if that's what you mean." Shizuru shook her head, an almost disappointed look on her face, "That's too broad a similarity. Look into the women's history. I assure you, they'll have something in common." Shizuru eyed the confused agent, "Maybe it's not so obvious now, but I assure you, there will be a similarity you will find." Natsuki tensed, realizing that this was the most of an answer she'd get out of the woman when it came to choosing the victims. "That's not good enough," Natsuki spat, "You want us to play this little sick game of yours? Fine, but give me real answers! I get to go again. I didn't agree to this so I could have the world's vaguest answers thrown at me. If I'm going actually trust one of the biggest psychopaths that has ever existed," Natsuki met Shizuru's inquiring gaze with her furious one, "Then I expect real results. I get to ask another question before you ask your first."

Instead of any anger, Shizuru smiled and chuckled, "I suppose that's fair. Very well. Ask the second question."

Natsuki sighed, leaning back. She had been so sure that maybe Shizuru knew a bit more than she said. But hearing what she had just heard, maybe this was a waste of time. Sure, Shizuru might be involved with her own past, but what about the Hime Killer case? Was she useless in that respect?

Ignoring that incredibly pessimistic thought, Natsuki continued, "Okay, real answers, got it? My next question. This kind guy's profile, we've summed him up as a lower class man, possibly a teenager to early twenty-years old or slightly older. Someone who was abused by his family. At least, that's the profile. But it just doesn't add up." Natsuki's eyes danced to the crack littered cement wall to the left where the hall ended, "Something about that profile doesn't add up. We've investigated all the lower class families, monitored them." Shizuru smirked, "Goodness, profiling based on class." The cannibal shook her head, "Agent, I'd say I'm surprised at your station. But given who your chief is and what he's done-" Natsuki scowled, "Do you want to play this game or not?"

Shizuru held up a hand, "I'll stop. I'll stop."

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the point is, it doesn't add up. All of these women vary. The first two victims were high class. Rich. Two were middle class. Three were lower class. And this new one, the one we just found, her family was incredibly wealthy. So obviously the class difference doesn't bother him." She shrugged, "None of them seemed to be sex workers as far as we can tell, so that eliminates the possibility that he thinks prostitution is a sin or something like that. And none of them were married or had children, so that eliminates grudges when it comes to marital problems." She glanced up at Shizuru. "You can answer at any time, you know?"

Shizuru smirked, "Sorry, you look so cute when you're thinking hard." She ignored Natsuki's flushed, angry look and spoke calmly, "So you want to know why his profile doesn't fit? And if you're looking for another type of man altogether?" Natsuki nodded. "Yeah," She huffed, "That's the gist of it."

Shizuru sighed, sitting back down on the cot. "When people began profiling me," She began, looking at Natsuki wisely, "Do you think they were looking for a wealthy psychiatrist? Do you think anyone really would have realized that a cannibal and a sophisticated rich woman who was a trustworthy psychiatrist were the same person? Sometimes profiles don't work. Sometimes assuming that a murderer is actually a street thug, a known criminal, a gang member or your average lower class worker doesn't always work." Shizuru met Natsuki's eyes intensely, "You seem to see this Hime Killer as someone who's as smart as I am. If I were you, I'd look in the opposite direction of class. Look for someone rich. Someone the media and the stations wouldn't dare think was guilty. Ever. Someone that might be, who knows, even sophisticated and polite." A dark smile crossed Shizuru's face, "The world's most famous serial killers have been quite polite. I'm not just talking about me. Have you ever heard of the American killer, Ted Bundy? He was quite the nice man. Up until he raped and murdered his victims, that is. John Wayne Gacy, a wonderful people person. A nice cook too, as I understand it. No one would ever suspect he was such a monster. Often, you can't automatically assume that someone is a serial killer and rapist, just because they're poor. Often, you will run into these people in the rich community because they can get away with it and no one will suspect them."

Natsuki felt uncomfortable. Tense in her seat, her shoulders ached suddenly. "To explain my point," Shizuru continued, as if not noticing how uneasy the agent was, "Not only do I suggest looking into the wealthy community around Tokyo, or in the countryside nearby, but I also suggest checking people with a lot of power. Or a respected position." Natsuki lifted her head. "Like a psychiatrist." Shizuru shrugged. "Possibly. Or like a doctor. A lawyer. Or it could be something not quite so luxurious and glamorous. But still respected. Maybe a teacher. Or a firefighter. Or a priest. Or an officer." At her last words, Shizuru lifted her eyebrows at Natsuki, and the dark-haired agent tensed. "You're suggesting that the Hime Killer might be an officer of the law?" Natsuki asked, throat dry. The thought was unbearable. But she had heard of crooked cops, and at their worst, murderers who just happened to be cops.

"I'm not suggesting it is," Shizuru shrugged, "I'm suggesting that it's a possibility. It would make sense though, wouldn't it? How long have you been trying to catch him? He'd be able to dodge your officers well. He'd have to know their methods quite possibly." Natsuki felt her whole body ache with tenseness. No matter how much it made her throat and tongue taste of something horribly bitter, and no matter how much she tried to tell herself that this was just Shizuru's way of making her paranoid, she couldn't say that the cannibal's reasoning didn't make sense. It unfortunately did.

It made a lot of sense. Her and the other officers had all been sure they could track down the killer. But to no avail. That wasn't to say something crazy like he had inside information. No, nothing that extreme. Yet. But it was near impossible to find him. Almost no witnesses.

Natsuki felt her head bob. "Yes, I guess that does make a horrible amount of sense. But it doesn't answer why he'd make them suffer. Maybe he feels betrayed by women?"

Shizuru turned her head in a disconcerting manner, making her movement almost reptilian as she smirked, "That's a second question. It's your turn to answer what I ask. Quid pro quo, my dear."

Natsuki almost hissed, but kept her anger in check. She wanted to continue demanding answers, but she had agreed to this. And in Shizuru's view, it was only fair. Shizuru kept her voice calm, "What is your worst memory of childhood, Natsuki?" Natsuki clenched her fists, hearing the question. Except that. She could have gone with almost any question except that.

Natsuki was trying to restrain the urge to seethe. But given that Shizuru already was very familiar with her-had been there with her the night of the wolves, then she could use that to her advantage. Soon, Natsuki was fighting the need to smirk. She just made sure face was serious as she locked her eyes with Shizuru's. "I believe you already know my worst memory, Shizuru. After all, you were there." Shizuru's smile widened and she shook her head. "How gullible do you believe I am, Natsuki?" The former doctor asked, "I know that that incident was traumatic for you. But I know it wasn't your most traumatic. There is another that you're keeping a secret from me. Please, tell me your worst childhood memory. The one involving the wolves, I know comes close, but I know it's not the one that remains freshest in your mind. The one that you have to drink at night to forget."

Natsuki felt all her blood freeze and her stomach tighten. She had been hoping to divert Shizuru's sharp observational skills and have them focus on another memory. And in the process learn more about her and Shizuru's history. But of course, the cannibal was too clever for that. She'd never fall for something that simple, would she?

Natsuki's teeth clenched. She could feel the dark memory start to bubble to the surface, its depressing, sticky fingers coiling around her mind, dragging her strength and self-control down to the depths of her soul. Natsuki kept her anger in check with the little restraint she had left. No choice. She would either find out what she needed to about the Hime Killer, or see in the news soon that there was a new victim found. Finally she found the words being forced out, sliding her eyes away from the leering lunatic, "When I was eight, my mother died." She heard her voice crack and watched with a wave of anger as Shizuru had a satisfied smirk on her face, as if the maniac was thinking, _I knew it._

Natsuki somehow felt the words come out still, "I don't know what happened. All I know is that I came out of my room one morning after I woke up…I-I felt, no I _knew_ something was wrong. I just felt it. It was weird. It was like one of those urban legends. That when something bad happens to someone you love, you feel it. I guess I've never really thought that it wasn't true. My mother's death I think is why. I walked out into the hallway and….." Natsuki turned away and stared at the wall, skin feeling icier by the moment, voice still strained, "And I got to my parents' room and walked in. I saw my father lying on the bed, but not my mother." Natsuki's voice broke and she bit her lower lip hard, squeezing her eyes shut, needing to stop a moment.

It was only when Shizuru's gentle voice spoke up that Natsuki broke out of her grief-stricken haze. "Natsuki-" Natsuki almost hissed at the sympathy in the former psychiatrist's voice. "Don't!" She spat, turning her head and glaring at the saddened, deceptively beautiful face, "I don't want any false sympathy or pity from you! Or anyone's pity or sympathy." Her teeth clenched as she continued, disgusted with Shizuru's farce of a condolence, "I knew immediately when I saw that there was only my father in the bed that there was something wrong. I walked out and went down the stairs and out of the house and started calling for her." Natsuki closed her eyes again, an ocean of agony stirring inside her.

"That's when I saw something lying on the front lawn of our house." Her words were nearly whimpered out.

Shizuru watched the young agent, seeing the pain wrack the woman. Shizuru's hands clenched at her sides. She knew nothing she showed Natsuki would convince the agent that she truly was sorry for the woman's loss, or that she truly did care about the younger. She knew what was coming. It wasn't hard to guess what had been lying on the lawn in front of Natsuki's house. Saddened crimson eyes watched the agent with fascination and affection. This innocent agent wouldn't know loneliness or pain much longer. Shizuru would fix that.

She smirked, knowing the young agent had no clue what she was planning. None at all. She would chase away all of Natsuki's pain and grief. It would be nothing more than a memory. She leaned back against the wall, ready for the next wave of strained words, wishing she could break out of the glass prison and comfort the agent, but knew she couldn't.

"I saw the figure." Natsuki said, as she stared at the floor, "I of course had no idea what it was. How could I have had any idea? I was a kid. I walked over and…and it was my mother's body." Natsuki's voice was barely above a whisper, "She had these blue and purple bruises all over her neck and shoulders. And I…" Natsuki swallowed, "I think the worst part was her eyes. They just stared. Blankly. At nothing. I mean, I thought at first that she was staring at me. And her mouth was open. I thought she was trying to talk to me, but she was just staring and even in the dark, I could tell, there was something really wrong with her eyes. It was like there was no light there."

Natsuki stopped talking, eyes still glued to the floor. Tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't looking at Shizuru, so she didn't see the pain written over those crimson orbs. "I don't know what happened after that," Natsuki shrugged, "I think my mind kind of went numb for a few hours. I just dropped on my ass on the grass in front of my mother's dead body when I realized that she was dead and just stared. I guess I didn't look that different than she did. I looked just as unresponsive. When my dad came out of the house and found me the next morning, he had this beer bottle in his hand and he was just staring at me and he grabbed me, trying to pull me back to the house. I think I broke out of whatever stupor I was in. I started screaming and pleading. I…I just wanted my mom." Finally, Natsuki's voice broke, eyes squeezing shut.

"I don't remember how long I screamed and struggled. I know that my dad hit my hard in the stomach to shut me up." There was a hissing noise that made Natsuki freeze. She opened her eyes and slowly looked up, a shiver going down the back of her neck at the narrowed to slits red eyes staring at her. Natsuki's heart thudded quickly. She swallowed but said nothing. Shizuru took a step back from the glass. "Please continue, Natsuki." Shizuru requested in a completely kind and polite voice, but Natsuki could almost feel the underlying threat. Natsuki twitched uncomfortably in her seat. Had she said something that was rude or insensitive to the doctor? Or irritating? She hadn't thought so. She tensed, this time, tearful eyes on the former psychiatrist as she spoke, "Well…the police came and took my mother's body. I wanted to be with her. I wanted to be with her so badly. I tried to get to her, but I was held back. I remember, my dad just drank and drank more. I think he drank two whole packs of beer by the time they took my mother away. When the paramedics were all gone and he made sure that no one could see, he turned back to me and punched me right in the face, making three of my teeth fall out."

Natsuki felt the dry awful, invisible thing that had almost clogged up in her throat start to loosen. Strangely, it felt like a relief to finally say all of that out loud. She had never really told anyone what had happened that night and morning. Her father had pretty much sugarcoated it to the authorities, saying that _he_ was the one that found the body and that Natsuki only saw it recently instead of practically spending the night with the deceased body. And she hadn't dared tell anyone else or about her father's reaction the next morning. Not because she had been afraid of her father's reaction, but because of what she realized soon after when she got old enough to really think about her mother's death. Of course, her unasked questions had immediately been answered when her father had been arrested two years after her mother's death for the murder of his wife.

It had answered what she had thought for what had seemed a long, long time.

"Tell me," Came the gentle voice, "Do you think your father killed your mother?"

Natsuki raised her head and stared at the doctor looking at her. Natsuki sucked in a breath and forced her eyes to harden, despite the emotions pervading her body almost unforgivingly. "Quid pro quo, doctor." She said finally, almost glaring at the older woman, voice choking slightly. The dark look in Shizuru's eyes disappeared and she smiled. "Alright then. That's fair. Especially because of the weight of that information. I'm so sorry that that happened to you, Natsuki." Natsuki turned away. "Save it. I don't want the sympathy of a psychopath. Now, onto the answer you owe me."

Natsuki snapped her head back to look at Shizuru, glaring now, "The victims, they're all women, but from the coronary reports, none of them were sexually assaulted. I don't think I've ever seen a case like that. I think the fact that it's only women being assaulted makes it pretty obvious that our assailant is a man, but the fact that he hasn't sexually done anything with them is incredibly strange. Almost all male criminals that I've heard of or have investigated personally, have committed rapes or molestations of some kind. It's frankly bizarre that he hasn't. Can you make anything of that?"

Shizuru's smile grew and she chuckled, "Clever. Good question. Perhaps you're looking at it too simply. You are far too used to male criminals that want one sole thing. To dominate, violate and destroy. You, and not just you, but everyone in your station and I suspect many other police stations likely associate our murderer with another type of killer. A pervert and rapist. While he deviates completely from what our society deems as "moral" or "a good citizen" you've diagnosed him all wrong, just like you diagnosed his class and possible place in a community. It's quite likely that this isn't sexual at all. You asked why he would torture the women to death. Perhaps it is personal, but not in the way that's conventional for men to hate women. Not in a sexual way."

Shizuru sat down on the cot. "This is a very particular kind of vengeance. Perhaps the betrayal of a family member. Like a sister. Or a mother. Or a daughter even." Natsuki gave pause to think about that. Shizuru shrugged, "Now I'm not saying that this man had a mother, daughter or sister that betrayed him. It's just a possibility. However, look at the way he kills them. You say that he tortures them? Clearly this is personal, but not sexual, so it could be in a familial vein. Or, he could _think_ it's a familial vein."

Natsuki stiffened, eyes squinting as if trying to wrap her head around what the other woman said. "What?" She asked, not quite sure what else to say.

Shizuru displayed no irritation. Her calm smile remained as she spoke, "This man, needless to say, is incredibly disturbed. It may be that he doesn't really have a family. Perhaps by repeatedly kidnapping different women, he's reliving a fantasy. A family member that he's lost." Natsuki's mouth dropped open. She really, really hadn't thought of that. But wait….

"But then," Natsuki said, thinking carefully, "Why not just abduct women that all look alike? All of these women have looked different. If he's trying to bring a family member back or something, why not have the women he abducts look like his family member? The same hair, same height and weight. Same clothing. All of the victims have looked different." Shizuru seemed to lean forward a bit, eyes still dangerously intense. "So that leaves only one possibility, doesn't it? He never had this family member to begin with. A wicked smile started splaying over Shizuru's face, "He is living a fantasy. It's likely this man doesn't have a family and so has decided to create his own by continually gathering women and imagining them as his family, keeping them alive when he tortures them so that he can enact his anger of not having a family."

Natsuki's whole frame felt numb. She felt like she had just been dunked in ice water. No. No way. She could not deal with two huge revelations like this in one week. The way Shizuru so perfectly described this type of person…his condition or mental state…

Natsuki slowly rose from the chair, staring at Shizuru's eyes, heart thundering again. "You know who he is, don't you?" Natsuki almost breathed out, "You know who the Hime Killer is. The way you talk about him…he was one of your patients, wasn't he?"

Shizuru smirked. "Very perceptive, my dear. Very perceptive. I can see you're going to be a great detective one day." Natsuki ignored the praise. Or was it an insult? Natsuki didn't care by this point. "Who is he, doctor?" The agent hissed, "Tell me who the Hime Killer is! By withholding this information, you're-"

"I'm what?" Shizuru mocked, grinning, "Committing a crime? Well, since when has that been new? I'm quite sure that I've committed every crime there is to commit in the book. What will the police and the law do to me?" The mad glint in Shizuru's eye gleamed, "Lock me up? Oh, wait, they've already done that. I've been in here for years now. This won't make a difference. Do you understand, Natsuki? The ball's in my court. I will release the information when I want to. But you're playing by my rules. And that, I'm so sure is something you greatly dislike, but I assure you, has benefits." Shizuru's grin remained eerie and didn't move from her face. "Now, shall we continue?" Natsuki felt her stomach turn.

Shizuru was right. Again, the madwoman was right. What exactly _could_ Natsuki do? Shizuru was already behind glass. She was already locked up. She had nothing she could use as a threat against the cannibal. Shizuru was already locked up. And as far as she could tell, she had nothing that could entice more answers about the Hime Killer's identity. She then stiffened and thought about what Shizuru had said. A man. No family. Possibly high class or in a position of power. And he had been one of Shizuru's patients.

A smirk covered the agent's face as she stared down at the still sitting criminal. "You gave yourself away, Shizuru!" She snapped, "Telling me all that information and allowing me to find out that he was your patient. Shizuru, I thought more highly of your intelligence. All I have to do is look at your patients' files. I just have to keep looking until I find the right guy."

Shizuru snorted, such a base reaction from the refined doctor, startling Natsuki. "Oh, Natsuki," Shizuru chuckled, "While I am flattered that you thought I was so brilliant, do you really think it will be that easy? I was a psychiatrist. My patients' records would be legally sealed so that you couldn't find out who was attending sessions. That's confidentiality, my dear. And even if that wasn't the case, do you really believe that any of those that came to see me, would ever willingly come forward after everything I've done? You're committing yourself to quite the impossible mission."

Natsuki felt her chilled heart drop. Shizuru had a point. But this was serious. Shizuru had just implied knowing who the Hime Killer was. If she couldn't get a warrant to search all the patients' files, she seriously would laugh, no matter how grim it was. She said coolly, "I doubt it, Shizuru. You're an infamous force. So is the Hime Killer. Immediately mentioning possibly finding anything about the Hime Killer will get me a warrant."

Shizuru shrugged. "I suppose you'll see, won't you? Now go on, if you think that you'll find anything, that is."

Natsuki scowled down at the arrogant woman. "I'll be back." She said, voice still cold, "And you'd better have a good explanation as to why you didn't tell me who the Hime Killer is." As Natsuki started storming away, only then did Shizuru hop off of the cot and walk over to the glass. "Oh Natsuki?" Shizuru called, making the agent stop in her steps, "You're forgetting. I'm much more honest than your chief, aren't I?"

At the amusement in the cannibal's voice, Natsuki whirled around, glaring. "That's not much to compete with, Shizuru." Natsuki turned back around and marched quickly out of the hall, leaving a smirking Shizuru. She narrowed her eyes, amusement filling her expression. Oh Natsuki, she truly had grown into quite the quick-tempered woman. She was so fun to annoy.

As Shizuru heard the door slam, she turned to the communication button lodged into the wall that led up to the wires in the wall and pressed it. She waited a few seconds before she heard a beep and then Sakomizu's voice on the other end. _"Yes, Fujino-san?"_ Shizuru smiled at the nervousness she heard in the large man's voice. "Ah yes," Shizuru said charmingly, "My deepest apologies for interrupting anything you may be doing, Kaiji-sama. But I must speak with Yuuki-san about something urgent. If you would be so kind as to tell her, it would be very appreciated."

There was silence and finally Sakomizu's very unnerved voice came through. _"I'll tell her. Just wait a few moments and I'll see if she can come down."_

Shizuru's expression was nearly shark-like. "Thank you so much, Kaiji-sama. You have always been so kind."

She could almost hear his gulping on the other end and she heard the connection end. She chuckled, sitting back down on the cot and waited. The communication panels linked to the prisoners' cells were used for emergencies or special requests. But often, given many of the prisoners were insane, there were of course either false alarm, traps set for the orderlies and staff, or just plain pranks played. Shizuru intended no such thing. At least, not for Nao Yuuki specifically.

She heard the door upstairs creak open and footsteps. Shizuru grinned. She smelled the scent that was Nao Yuuki's before seeing the redheaded boss of the facility. Green eyes lost of any mirth glowered at Shizuru. "Well," Nao began, voice stone, "What was it you wanted to speak to me about, Fujino?"

Shizuru kept her laughter at bay. Those sparkling green eyes looked so much like the beautiful emeralds that belonged to Natsuki, but Nao wasn't Natsuki. She couldn't be, no matter what the redheaded fool did. She was just a means to an end. Shizuru began, keeping all of her malignant thoughts in line, concentrating only on a way that would be easiest to break out. "Yes, Yuuki-san, I have a question for you. How about I offer you a way of solving the Hime Killer's crimes? I know who he is, and with my help you could be famous."

Nao stared incredulously at the other woman. She let out a bark of laughter. "That's rich!" She laughed, "You expect me to believe that? Next you'll tell me that you're a queen or something." Shizuru rolled her eyes, "Come now, Yuuki-san. Do you really think that I'd tell you something like that without being able to supply facts? And even if I didn't, you wouldn't have to announce any of this. This could be kept quiet. Away from reporters and journalists. If it turns out that you were wrong to trust me, it never has to get out. But if you're right to trust me? Well, then you would truly be famous. I just ask one thing in return." Nao's eyes squinted and Shizuru could tell from the loosening in Nao's lower jaw that she had dragged the younger woman into her web easily.

"What is it you want?" Nao asked, eyes becoming wide.

Shizuru waved her hand, an almost innocent smile adorning her face (almost innocent, because Shizuru knew Nao knew way better), "Oh nothing really. Just one little thing. I simply would like a bigger cell. Something without glass. Glass…there are holes to smell things. But I need a bigger space between what's holding me captive. Like bars. I want to smell things. I need a bigger cell." Shizuru gestured around her cell, "This little hole…it doesn't suit me. I swear to you, I can provide good information. But please, allow me a larger cell. A wider place to walk and put my drawings and books. Please, Yuuki-san." Shizuru turned back to the director and she knew her humble attitude had won points with the younger woman. She saw a slight twitch in Nao's mouth, the redhead suppressing a smile. The glint in the woman's eyes becoming more proud.

Shizuru tried not to let her own grin dominate her face. Nao was so easy to allow someone to trick her. All it took was the right amount of flattery.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Nao asked, small shreds of suspicion still there. Shizuru leaned back against the cement wall, letting out a sigh, "The Hime Killer has become quite prolific. He is famous. I'd like to think I could get some reward for my services. There's the offer, Yuuki-san. Allow me a bigger cell with bars, and I will give you all the information you need. Take it or leave it."

Shizuru turned to the younger woman and could just see the conflict in those green eyes. Nao was tempted, clearly. Shizuru knew an easy target when she saw one. "Alright." Nao said at last. "But we're keeping this quiet. I won't release this deal until I know for sure that you're not jerking me in the wrong direction, understood, Fujino?" Shizuru gave a charming smile. Goodness, Nao truly was foolish.

 _Of course_ Shizuru was going to lead Nao in the wrong direction. But this agreement would lead to one thing. A prison much easier to break out of. Shizuru contained her dark glee as her thoughts wandered. _(I'm coming for you, Natsuki. You can never hide from me.)_

 **Author's note:**

 **donewaiting** **: Oh, I'm so sorry, your majesty. But clearly I have to explain it again, as I mentioned in an earlier chapter's author's note, my computer broke down. It had ALL the work from the story on it. I'm doing this story from scratch and memory. Do I have to write that down again and again for you to understand that?! Understand this, I'm not a teenager that you can bully around. I'm an adult now, as opposed to when I first posted this. And oh yes, I'm also the one providing this story. So watch it. You might want to think about that. Sorry, your highness, but I don't exist for you to enjoy a story. Fanfiction authors have lives too. I know, shocking, right?**

 **Sigh. Sorry to other reviewers who read that but I really needed to vent. I've been trying to redo this story for a while and I don't have the work anymore because my computer crashed. And since a certain someone calls himself/herself "donewaiting," I decided to give a feedback of why I can't put in the old one. I know, patience, such a terrible thing to ask people to have. Crazy, right?**


	6. More than one Deal-More than one Devil

**Trigger warnings for murderers, a survivor of an attempted murder and trauma. And captivity.**

 **Chapter 6: More than one Deal-more than one Devil**

Natsuki rode fast, faster than she ever remembered going on her bike towards the office of the criminal known as Shizuru Fujino. She knew the psychopath's office location. In a hurry, she had looked it up on her phone. She, to be honest, had been surprised that it had been so easy to look up. She'd figure that she'd have to go through her station to learn the office's location. Personally, she was glad that she had just been able to find the location of the office on her phone instead of having to go to the station and risking an encounter with Tate.

The next minutes flying on by, with Natsuki focusing her mind solely on getting the information she needed from Fujino's old office, she increased the speed down the road.

 **The main psychiatrist's office:**

 **Main road of Tokyo:**

Natsuki parked and secured the bike next to the sidewalk, pulling her helmet off and marched quickly to the short and oddly plain brick building. It really was incredibly normal looking. Almost disappointingly so. It was almost flat in how low the black shingled roof was. The colors of the bricks inlaid in the building ranged from bright orange to salmon and maroon in some stripes above the thick, brown mahogany door in the middle of the front of the structure.

It was a fairly unassuming building. Probably one of the most normal she had seen in Tokyo in a while. She sighed, walking over and tightened her shoulders, getting ready to jump right into this. She raised a balled up right hand and knocked loudly. After three knocks, she waited a few moments. There was a clicking noise on the other side of the door and the handle turned, door opening. Despite her anger and frustration, Natsuki tried to keep up a polite smile when she saw the tall, pale woman with a heart-shaped face and short, light pink hair, wearing a charcoal grey business suit.

"Hello?" The woman asked, sticking her head out, a curious look on her face, "May I help you?"

"Yes," Natsuki began, feeling her chest tighten over knowing that she was actually doing this and reached into her pocket, retrieving her ID and flipping it open to the woman. "I am special Agent Kuga. I've come to investigate some of the records kept on someone seeing a specific doctor who once worked here." At the confused narrowed eyes, the woman finally asked, pink eyebrows lifted. "And that person would be?" As soon as the woman asked, Natsuki could tell that there was already some suspicion in the woman's voice, clearly aware of where this was going.

Natsuki decided to just be blunt. "Shizuru Fujino." The woman sighed, looking partially relieved. "Oh thank goodness." The woman chuckled dryly, "For a moment, I was afraid you were going to tell me that two doctors had committed crimes while working here." Natsuki held back a snort. Well that was a weird way of seeing it. "Nope." Natsuki said, putting her ID away, "Just Fujino. May I see the records of her patients? I know it's against confidentiality, but it's imperative that I see them." The woman sighed and opened the door further, gesturing for Natsuki to come inside. "Please come in." The woman said, smiling. Natsuki smiled back, though felt all her nerves going on the edge in defense as she walked through the doorway onto the green-carpeted floor.

The woman closed the door behind her.

Natsuki turned the sweetly smiling woman who cocked her head as she asked gently, "May I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Tea?" "Um, no thank you." Natsuki shook her head, "Can we talk about those files and the clients that saw Fujino, Ms.?" The woman smiled and waved a hand, "Oh no. Don't be so formal. Just call me by my first name. Fumi. And you, Agent Kuga, you're looking at this case? May I ask why? Hasn't Ms. Fujino already been sentenced and imprisoned for life?"

Natsuki chuckled, still tense, nodding. "Yes, she has been. But it's a little more complicated than that." The blue-haired cop hesitated, unsure if she should say this. How much information exactly did she want to risk getting out? But before she could say what she was thinking next, Fumi spoke up, "Is there any chance that one of Ms. Fujino's clients was involved with the murders?" The woman's bright green eyes shimmered with fear at the thought and Natsuki tried not to grimace. The woman had no idea how close she was to the truth, did she?

Of course, Fumi thought by the "murders" that they were about to talk about the murders _Shizuru_ committed. No. These were a new set of horrific murders entirely. Clearly, this woman had no idea how close the Hime Killer actually was to Shizuru. And that was perhaps for the best. So, knowing that perhaps this would be protecting Fumi and other civilians, Natsuki forced a calm smile and the lie out of her lips, "It's possible. We don't know for sure yet. But we think that some of them might be able to tell us about other victims. I'd just like to look at the clients. If I'd be allowed to?" She looked hopefully at the woman, and Fumi's face was etched with hesitation.

"I'd like to, Kuga." Fumi began slowly, and Natsuki already knew what the answer would be, "Really, I'd like to. But I don't have that authorization. You'll have to speak with our supervisor. Tomoe Marguerite? She became in position of controlling the office after Shizuru was sentenced."

Natsuki smiled, just relieved that this woman at least wasn't trying to withhold information from her. "Thank you. I will. It's perfectly understandable if you don't have authorization. Is there a way I can speak with Ms. Marguerite? Over the phone or email? Or better yet, personally?"

Fumi smiled. Perhaps. But not here and not now. I'll give her a call, and see if she can meet with you personally. Ms. Marguerite is not very forthcoming about any information on files. I doubt she will be very eager to tell you anything, even if she does know what your looking for."

Natsuki kept back a growl. She had been afraid of that. "That's alright." Natsuki answered, keeping her thoughts at bay, reminding herself that there was a paperclip slipped over the left top corner of the stack of papers on the brown table just in front of Fumi. "Please tell Ms. Marguerite that I'd like to speak to her and look at those files. With her permission, of course. I understand if you can't give me any information on Marguerite, but will you just relay this message to her? That I'd like to meet with her and talk about Shizuru Fujino's files and her patients? If she would?"

Fumi nodded, smiling. "I certainly will tell her. I of course, can't predict the outcome, but I will tell her. I'm sorry you came out all this way just to hear that." Natsuki waved a hand, keeping a fake smile on her face, green eyes occasionally bouncing to the paperclip on the desk, holding the ream of papers together. "No. I assure you, Fumi, it's fine. Thank you for your time. May I have your number so I can hear from you about it?" Fumi smiled as Natsuki pulled out her phone. "Of course, Ms. Kuga. I'll give you it." Natsuki grinned, moving on her legs to the left where the table was, left hand starting to press the "add contact" button as her right hand wandered to the table where the papers were, going up towards the paperclip.

"Thank you." Natsuki exclaimed, heart beating for each second her hand got closer to the paper clip. As Fumi obliviously told the special agent her number, the dark-haired woman snatched up the paperclip from the stack's corner, picking it up in her palm and slipping it into the right pocket of her jacket. Step one of being a criminal completed! She wondered just how far she needed to take her illegal actions before she really would be found out and considered a criminal. Natsuki added in Fumi's contact and smiled, ignoring the sweat bursting out over her pale brow. She nodded and backed out, bowing to the pink-haired woman.

Fumi said her goodbye and closed her door. Natsuki let out a huge breath, putting her phone away and pulled out the paperclip, checking around the walls of the building in front of her, making sure there were no cameras anywhere affixed to the building. There didn't seem to be. She quickly unfurled the paperclip from its long, oval-like shape, looking around, making sure there was no one around. She leaned in and pressed her ear to the door, listening in. She heard footsteps descend down the hall and smiled, realizing that Fumi had left.

She quickly turned to her bike, walked over and grabbed it, dragging it over to the bushes and hiding it.

She came out and walked back over to the door, leaning down in front of it and inserting the end of the paperclip into the lock and started jimmying it around inside the bronze colored, metal slit. She held back a hiss. There were times she really was regretful for hanging out with thugs at the orphanage after she had been taken from her abusive father and uncle. Thugs that had taught her how to pick locks and steal crap. This was not one of those times.

Who knew learning from a drunk, closet thief would be so beneficial? And of course, Natsuki would need to figure out where the files on Shizuru's patients were. She really doubted that they were just in Shizuru's old office. They likely had been confiscated by this Marguerite herself. Natsuki thought for a moment about that name. Marguerite. It sounded foreign. Tomoe was an Asian name, but Marguerite was definitely foreign. Natsuki pursed her lips at that thought. It wasn't necessarily strange or unheard of for someone who was foreign or of mixed race to work in Japan or gain power of offices. Still, a little strange to hear.

After a few minutes of monkeying with the lock, Natsuki's smile split her face when she heard a small 'click' inside the lock's cover and pulled the paperclip out. She dropped it into her pocket, stood up and pulled out some tissues. Pulling out one tissue from her package, she wrapped the tissue around the doorknob, and turned it, not allowing her fingerprints to show up.

As she started pushing the door in, stepping inside, a slice of light leaking through the increasingly growing crack of the opening door, Natsuki's heart pounded as the agent wondered just what in the hell she was doing.

This was a criminal offense. She knew that. She was breaking and entering right now. She was committing a crime. She could lose her right to be an officer. She might even go to jail for this. Not even Tate would be able to protect her. That thought suddenly dashed away any doubts that Natsuki had about doing this. Her brow narrowed and her teeth clenched, lips hardening in an angry line. Tate. Why should she care about him protecting her? Had he done so before? Had he protected her from Shizuru? From her past? She almost growled at the thought. Fuck Tate. She threw away all restraint and walked through the doorway, looking around cautiously.

There was no one in the room. She slipped through and quietly and slowly closed the door, tissue still in her hand, keeping her fingerprints from touching the door. She walked in as she closed the door fully and shoved the tissues back in her pocket. She slipped stealthily through the hall and looked at the different closed office doors. None of them were Fujino's of course. Perhaps Shizuru's office had been closed off from the public after her arrest.

Natsuki peered at all the different plaques with the names, written in gold lettering. Finally, she came upon one office. One that had no plaque, no gold writing on the door. Just a bare door and a bare plaque. There were leftover indents of letters on the black oval that was the plaque. Natsuki squinted as she looked at the said plaque. The light in the hallway was bright and Natsuki could make out the indents fairly well. "Shizuru Fujino." That's what the indents said. Natsuki smiled. This was the once supposedly good doctor's office. She found it. Natsuki whirled around and scanned the area. No one was looking and it didn't look like there were any cameras around. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the paperclip.

She turned to the office door and slipped the tip of the clip right into the lock and started jiggling it around again. She was breaking so many rules and laws right now, and Natsuki knew it. But there was a dangerous criminal running around and there were lives on the line. She had to find out who the Hime Killer was. At all costs. Even if she lost her job or went to jail, she had to tell someone who it was that was committing these crimes.

After hearing a clicking noise in the lock of the door, Natsuki reached into her other pocket and pulled out a tissue, wrapping it around the knob of the door. She turned it and pushed the door in, stepping inside and pulling the paperclip out of the lock. She stuffed the tissue back in her other pocket and looked around the room. The first thing she noticed was the pungent smell of fresh paint. Her nose wrinkled. Seeing how dark it was, she pulled the tissue out again and used it as a barrier between her fingers and the white light switch lodged into the wall.

The bright lights went on quick, illuminating an incredibly normal looking office. Natsuki frowned. She hadn't been sure what she had been expecting. But given whose office this used to be, she had expected either a more elaborate room, or something almost sinister in the content of the room. There was sign of neither. The four walls were a pale green, something Natsuki knew must have been new if the smell was anything to go by. The floor was bare and wooden, but there was a big rolled up maroon rug up against the wall, wrapped in plastic.

There was an oval-shaped mahogany table up against the wall, to Natsuki's right. The special agent checked out the top of the table. There appeared to be four small imprints of paws on the table. Natsuki was guessing Shizuru had owned a statue of a large cat of some kind that had been taken. There was a large gold-framed mirror above the table that had been covered by a plastic see-through sheet. Natsuki looked around the room. Nowhere did she see any file cabinet of any kind. She sighed in dismay. She'd have to find the files in most likely the main office. Natsuki took one last wary look around. She noticed a patch of the wall that had not been coated over with green paint.

It was a patch of lavender. Natsuki felt an incredulous laugh start up in her throat.

Lavender. Maroon. These were not colors Natsuki would have associated with the cannibal that was Shizuru Fujino.

Blood red. Black. Wouldn't those have been her colors? Though Natsuki suspected that those colors most likely would have put off any clients. So perhaps not. Natsuki sighed, turning, pulling out her tissues, turned out the lights and closed the door behind her. She pulled out her paperclip and jimmied the lock of the door back into place. She stood up fully and looked down the hall. Okay, the building seemed to be just one long, squat building. There was no physical evidence that there was a second floor. So the files had to be on _this_ floor. But where?

Natsuki peered down the hall, freezing when she heard footsteps hurrying her way. She quickly hid to the right. Behind a tall corridor across from her. She heard the footsteps pass by and ducked out, seeing two shadows cast against the pale pink carpet. Breathing out a huge sigh of relief, the special agent walked around another corridor, seeing three doors lined up. One had a glass panel with gold letters spelling out, _"Tomoe Marguerite; director."_

The other two doors didn't interest Natsuki. This one had the director's name on it. It was unlikely that the files were not in this office. Natsuki dared to shuffle closer, looking closely; squinting through the glossy glass to see any outline of a person in there. She saw the shape of a chair, but no person sitting in it. Natsuki's heart thudded with excitement. This could be it. She could find Shizuru Fujino's files and find out who the Hime Killer was. She turned and checked down the hallway. No one seemed to be coming.

She turned back to the door, heart thundering even harder than before. It would have to be now. No matter how suicidal or illegal this was on so many levels, she might never get another chance like this. Pulling out both the tissue and the paperclip, she leaned down to the lock, slipped the paperclip in and got to work. After several frustrating moments, her heart leapt again whens she heard a click.

The knob, wrapped in a tissue, separating the round piece of metal from her clenched hand, started to turn, thanks to her aching, shaking hand. Natsuki slipped the paperclip out of the lock, but kept it close, thinking about there most likely being a lock on the file cabinets-that is, _if_ they were actually in the room like she suspected they were. She turned the door and pushed her way in, stepping onto a beige, wooly carpet. She looked around the room. There were two large windows covered with drawn blinds. The tan bars of the blinds were tilted slightly, allowing some golden sunlight to leak into the office.

The gilded light illuminated several stacks of paper on a short, wide rectangular desk, bearing two silver desk lights with curved necks. There was an empty leather bound desk chair behind the desk. Relief flooded Natsuki and she smiled. No one here. She looked down the hall again. There was no one coming. She turned, pulling herself away from the door and closed it with a tissue-covered hand. She turned back to the room and a huge grin split her face when she saw the big, tall, grey towering file cabinets. There they were. She walked over, not needing any light yet, thanks to the sun spilling in through the blinds. She looked at each letter grafted into the file cabinets. The Japanese character for "Fu" was on the fourth file cabinet away from the wall. The tissue and the paperclip were out and in Natsuki's hands in moments.

She clasped her tissue-covered hand against the grey metal door of the top file cabinet and slipped the end of her paperclip inside the lock. Natsuki's excitement, she knew was getting to her. She could feel her heart slamming against her chest and ribcage. Her right arm was shaking as it delicately held the paperclip-her greatest hope right now. She tried not to smirk at that. Who knew that solving a series of murders would depend on a paperclip? She'd have laughed if anyone had told her that.

She was so close to the answer of who the Hime Killer was, she could feel it.

 _I'll find out who you are, you bastard._ Natsuki thought to herself through the sweat accumulating on her brow, teeth gritted in her frustration.

At last, there was a clicking sound and she pulled her hand and the tissue away, wrapping the tissue and her fingers around the silver metal handle of the cabinet, pulling the drawer out, revealing a long line of files in a row. Natsuki leaned over the files, using the light of the sun to see the names on the files. Natsuki's heart almost stopped. There. There was Shizuru Fujino's clients' files.

Picking up her hand, holding the tissue, wrapping the tissue and her fingers around the bundle of files, which was a large amount, Natsuki noted and slowly pulled them out, not quite believing she was finding this. Just as she held out the stack of files in front of her, the files of the clients of Shizuru Fujino, there was the sound of the doorknob turning and the door swung open. Natsuki nearly gasped as she swirled around, facing who had just come in, blood turning cold. The woman who stood before her was not that much taller than her. Only the black leather high heels this woman wore made her eye-level with the special agent. The woman had pale skin and dark green hair, the right side of her green mane longer than the left, going past the woman's jaw, almost past her shoulder.

Pale lavender eyes stared at Natsuki with shock and suspicion.

"Just who the hell are you?" The woman asked in a cold tone. Natsuki felt her throat go completely dry. Well, shit. What the hell was she going to do now? "I…," Even as Natsuki spoke, she knew she'd be doing something smart by keeping her mouth shut, but just kept speaking against her better judgment, "I needed information on a series of killings."

Natsuki almost gaped at her own words. She had just told this woman what she was here for! So much for her cover about more of Fujino's victims! The woman eyed Natsuki, lavender orbs traveling down to the paperclip in the agent's hands. "And you thought breaking in was the best solution?" Natsuki looked down at the paperclip and shivered. Well, she was fucked.

The frozen green-haired woman, dressed in a dark blue suit, walked slowly over to her desk, putting the files she had under her right arm onto the desk, black heels clicking against the floor that was exposed at the carpet's end. Natsuki followed the woman's movements, heart still pounding, wondering what would be worse, if she ran for the door or stayed and explained. Her eyes suddenly caught something beneath the dark stockings the woman was wearing. Marks. Multiple marks along the woman's legs.

They were crescent shaped. At least, some of them were. Some of them were cruder than others.

The woman turned back to Natsuki, smiling. "Are you an agent? If you are, let me see some ID." Natsuki, not wanting to tempt fate any more than she already had, quickly dropped the paperclip and pulled out her ID, flipping it open and showing it to the woman. The woman sighed and switched on one of the desk lamps. She looked closely at the ID. Seeming to be satisfied, the woman nodded, backing away.

"Very well." The woman said at last, making Natsuki sigh and put the ID back in her pocket. "Now," The woman began again, "Tell me what you're doing here. Given that I literally caught you breaking in, I assume you do not have a warrant. What are you here for?" The woman's eyes traveled down to the files in Natsuki's hands and the agent blushed against her will. She sighed, realizing there was nothing else she could do. "I'm investigating the Hime Killer." She said finally, facing the woman, who Natsuki could only assume was Tomoe Marguerite.

The woman stiffened and her eyes widened. "You think that the Hime Killer works here?" The woman said, "Or was a client of someone that works here? That's a hefty accusation, agent."

Natsuki nodded, trying to ignore the frost in the woman's tone. "I know. I know. And I don't enjoy giving that accusation. But it's something I highly suspect. I know that you have every right to report me to my station, but I implore you, let me look at these files." Natsuki stared at the woman and waited. The lavender-eyed woman sighed, "Whose files do those belong to?" Natsuki hesitated, sweat trickling down her back. Here it went. "Shizuru Fujino."

The woman froze again, eyes becoming wide. She looked down at the files. "Those are the files of Fujino's clients? The cannibal?" The woman asked, voice now strained. Natsuki nodded, now knowing both her fate and the Hime Killer's fate were up in the air. The woman's mouth parted and she slowly whispered something that Natsuki swore sounded like, _"Shizuru…"_

The woman looked numb for a few moments before she leaned back against the desk. "You think one of her old clients is the Hime Killer?" She asked at last, eyes now meeting Natsuki's. "Do you, agent Kuga?" Natsuki felt her muscles ache in their tenseness. Eventually she nodded. "Yes, I do." Tomoe (Natsuki assumed) almost shivered and looked at Natsuki in the eye. "You were assigned to the Hime Killer case? How did you come to the conclusion that the Hime Killer was once one of Fujino's clients?"

Natsuki felt her stomach turn and her chest tighten. Natsuki almost regretted having the big lunch she had before going to the facility. She could just feel her nerves getting fried. Here it went again. "I was asked to interview Shizuru Fujino." Natsuki said at last, feeling cold and clammy. "My chief of police told me to interview her so that I could understand the Hime Killer's mindset. And in doing so, I learned that the Hime Killer was once a client of Fujino's. But she won't tell me who he is. That's why I'm digging through her files."

Well, there was a very condensed version of what had happened, but it was the truth. She watched Tomoe's lavender eyes narrow in thought. Finally, the woman sighed again and circled around her desk and dropped into her chair, crossing her long, slender legs over one another, giving Natsuki better access to see the marks all over those said limbs. Natsuki felt her heart pound harder as she realized what those shapes were.

Bite marks.

Tomoe had dozens of bite marks all over her legs. Natsuki felt her throat tighten. She really didn't want to think about what that meant. Considering the person they were talking about, it seemed very unlikely that those bite marks were from anyone else, but…

But no…that couldn't be, right? How was Tomoe still alive if those bite marks were from who Natsuki was so sure they were from?

Tomoe must have noticed where Natsuki was looking and followed the agent's gaze down to her legs. Tomoe smirked, looking back up at Natsuki. "Admiring my legs, agent Kuga? I have to say, despite the scars, I have a couple of nice ones, don't you think?"

Natsuki blushed, snapping her head away. "I'm sorry." She amended quickly, "I wasn't looking at your legs…I mean, I was, I was just noticing-"

"The scars, right?" Tomoe offered, a chuckle in her voice as Natsuki slowly turned back around. "Yes, don't worry. I've had to live with them for a while now. Goodness, if you're that easy to tease, I wonder how you've survived even a few seconds with Shizuru Fujino. Even _with_ a cell separating the two of you." Earning a confused look from the agent, Tomoe smiled, "I know very well how much Fujino likes to tease people. I did work for her on a few occasions." Natsuki's stomach dropped, hearing that. She looked back down at the other woman's legs. "Is that the only history you have with Dr. Fujino?"

Natsuki already suspected the answer, but waited.

The dark green-haired woman shrugged, looking nonchalant, standing up again. She reached her right sleeve with her left, well manicured hand and pulled back her sleeve, revealing a set of bite marks identical to the ones on her legs, all along her right pale arm. Natsuki's mouth dropped open, eyes bulging. Tomoe's other hand went to her left sleeve, pulling it up, revealing more bite marks on this said arm.

Natsuki's heart thumped and thumped. God…

"What do _you_ think, agent Kuga?" Tomoe asked, right eyebrow cocking up. "I'm the only one of her victims that survived her. That I know of." Tomoe lowered her arms and smiled, "I'll make you a deal, agent Kuga. I'll let you have the files. All of them. And I won't report you breaking in. But only on one condition."

Natsuki met that purple gaze, her interest and hope now caught. Tomoe smirked at Natsuki's expression. "If you agree to do something for me. At some point. I won't tell you what it is. Not yet. But you're in my debt if I do this, and you know it. I won't report you and you can have Fujino's files. But in return, you must do something for me. I know you don't want to. But can you think of any reason why I shouldn't report you now?" The green-haired woman smirked, making Natsuki step back, eyes widening at what the other woman was implying.

"You're…" Natsuki hissed, her wonderful anger starting to return to her, "You're blackmailing-"

"Yes I am." The woman chuckled. "You have an option. You are indebted to me and you'll have the files. I'll even say that I gave them to you willingly and that it was my idea. No one will have any clue that you broke in. Or you can defy me, favor your pride, and in doing so, give me fairly good reason to expose your crime. Go on, choose what you want to do, Kuga." Natsuki stared at the woman, not believing the bitch's audacity. Then again, she _had_ put herself in this position, hadn't she? If she hadn't broken in or at least had been more careful, maybe she wouldn't be in this situation.

And even if she was being blackmailed, she had a great opportunity here. She could have access to Shizuru Fujino's clients' files. She could get the answers here. She had access to the files that she needed so badly. She could find out who the Hime Killer was. The only price was that in return, she'd have to do what this woman said at some point. Who knew what that was? Perhaps it was something terrible, but maybe it would end up being something very simple.

Great. She was getting involved with really shady people.

Natsuki hesitated, eyes going to the woman's scars again. "Does my debt have anything to do with Fujino?" Natsuki dared ask slowly. The other woman smirked again. "Perhaps."

Natsuki glowered. Great. More ambiguous answers. Tomoe's "perhaps" was more than likely a "Yes, but I just want to sound coy." Natsuki thought about what she was doing here. If Tomoe's plan for Natsuki's debt, would that be so bad? Shizuru clearly had a history with Natsuki. And who knew what that meant. Natsuki knew what was formulating in her mind.

She wanted Fujino to get out of her life. She felt trapped with this beast being involved with her life. And she wanted the lunatic gone. If Tomoe really was going to go after Shizuru…

Natsuki already knew she was going to make this new deal before she even spoke the next words. "Alright. It's a deal."

Tomoe's eyes gleamed with triumph, making Natsuki clench her jaws, trying to keep herself from punching the other woman for her arrogance, but just nodded in the end. Tomoe put her hand out. Natsuki barely kept a growl out of her mouth, and clasped her right hand with the other woman's shaking the woman's hand.

"I'm Tomoe Marguerite." The woman said, "I suspect we should exchange information."

Natsuki nodded again, feeling self-disgust roil around in her gut. She didn't want to do this, but the cat was already out of the bag. She had gotten into this mess and she had to get out of it. And on top of it, she could have access to all the information she needed. As they parted, Natsuki reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and got ready to save Tomoe's contact information.

After that unpleasant experience and a haughty Tomoe waved Natsuki off who could barely contain her glowering at the other woman. Natsuki nearly ran out of the office, slamming the front door behind her, with Shizuru Fujino's clients' files under her left arm securely. Now in front of an empty parking lot, the sun beginning to go down, Natsuki buried her face in her right hand, exhausted. Two deals with two more than questionable people. One a cannibalistic murderer. And one a woman that might just be out for revenge.

And her chief of police had manipulated her.

Needless to say, Natsuki's life had taken a turn for the more complicated.

Natsuki snorted, pulling her hand away from her face, the phone in her pocket feeling like a big thorn in her side, now that she had Tomoe Marguerite's number and email saved in it. She stepped off the sidewalk and walked into the woods, keeping the files under her arm and grabbing her bike's levers and pulling it up to the parking lot, pulling off the helmet and grabbing her pack that was locked into the compartment of the bike, unzipping it and stuffing the files inside, zipping it up and putting it back in the compartment that she locked up again. She groaned, jamming the helmet on and jumped on the bike, taking her keys out and starting up the machine.

This was going to be a looooonnnnnggg night.

 **Back at the police station:**

When Natsuki had reached the police station, she still couldn't quite believe what happened. Had that really happened? Was it possible that not only had she agreed to a blackmailing deal with a woman of questionable character, but also had the answers about the Hime Killer at her fingertips? Had all this really happened in one day?

Natsuki barked out a laugh, taking off her helmet and got her bike in a good position, locking it and pulled out the pack with Shizuru Fujino's files on her clients, throwing it over her shoulders as she walked to the station. The moment she entered, she stiffened when she felt the immediate aura of unease and distress. Everything in the station felt tense. "Guys?" Natsuki asked, green orbs falling to where Mai stood with Midori, the two seeming in deep conversation.

Mai turned her head to Natsuki, purple eyes relieved as she ran over to her friend. "Natsuki!" Mai called out, hugging the other agent. "I'm so glad you're here." Natsuki smiled, though she knew something was definitely wrong.

"Hey, Mai. What's wrong?" Natsuki eyed her friend, trying to understand what was going on.

Mai's face became ashen and Natsuki started connecting the dots. Shit. Not again.

"Don't tell me." Natsuki whispered, mouth dropping. Mai nodded sadly as the also grim-faced Midori came up to join them. "Yeah. This one's name is Yukino Kikukawa. She's been missing for almost two days now. We were hoping it wasn't the Hime Killer, and there's a chance it might not be. But we know the time between the victims turning up has lessened. More and more bodies are turning up closer to each other in close time. We can't take the chance that this isn't one of his abductions. Even if it isn't the Hime Killer, Kikukawa has still been reported missing."

Natsuki hissed, hand on the strap of her backpack, her new lifeline because of the files in it, clenching. Dammit. Just fuck.

Natsuki was so lost in her frustrated thoughts that she didn't even realized she was being snuck up on. In seconds, a powerful force slammed into Natsuki, strong, but small, slim arms wrapped around Natsuki's waist, and a head lay against Natsuki's right arm. "Natsuki!" Mikoto exclaimed happily, looking up at her friend and sister happily, "You're alright!" The startled but now smiling Natsuki nodded, ruffling Mikoto's spiky black hair. "Of course I'm alright." The agent laughed, returning Mikoto's hug. "Why wouldn't I be?"

There was a sigh from Mai, "Please excuse Mikoto. She's been really worried about you talking with Shizuru Fujino. Especially after she found out more about her. Shizuru Fujino's a cannibal, so she's been panicked for you the past few days." Mai hesitated. "Come to think of it, I think we all have been, Natsuki." Natsuki turned and faced her friend, wincing at the concern and fear on both Mai and Midori's faces, identical to Mikoto's.

She hated admitting it, but they had reason to worry.

And they hadn't even learned about her past with Shizuru Fujino yet.

 _And they won't!_ Natsuki thought to herself determinedly, hugging Mikoto close. They would not find out what her history was with Shizuru. If they were already this worried and protective, they were _not_ going to find out that Shizuru was there with her that night with the wolves. Even if she had to threaten to report what Tate had done, they would not find out. No one would tell.

 **In an unidentified location:**

Yukino Kikukawa knew, always knew that she had to be careful with the people around her. Especially at night. Children, and especially young women were taught at a young age to be careful of strangers. And Yukino always had been. She supposed befriending a mentally ill woman who now had to be locked in a facility for rehabilitation wasn't a good sign of her caution. Yukino smiled sadly. Still, she couldn't help who she had fallen in love with.

Sadly, the brown-haired girl wiped the dirt and crud from her bespectacled face, looking around the dark, dingy cell where she had been locked up. A lot good reminiscing about Haruka and the blonde's mental state would do now. She looked out between the bars of her cell. She had no idea how these bars had been constructed. None at all.

But it looked like this place had been dug out. She was in some kind of cave-like cell. It was strange. So strange.

Well, strange was the nice way of putting it. Horrifying was another.

She heard a couple of footsteps and she whirled around, heart leaping into her throat, a chill going down her back.

There he was. Even in the dim, limited light she was granted, she could see his damnable figure. Black hair. Dark eyes leering at her. Tan skin. Face that she recalled from the night he kidnapped her, though handsome, was currently covered from his nose to all around his mouth and cheeks by a dark blue bandana. His body was nearly concealed by his night black clothing. He leaned back against the wall, watching her.

Yukino gulped and dared her words out, feeling tears start to well in her eyes. "Please sir…Let me go. I won't tell anyone about you. Please. Just let me go." Yukino pleaded, already sure of what the answer was. There was no answer though, just the figure rocking back and forth on his heels, mumbling the same word over and over again that Yukino had heard him use before.

No, not a word.

A name.

" _Mikoto."_

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay, I've got a new chapter in. Phew. I have the files I lost. Thank you so much RukaMichiSK. Thank you. You're a lifesaver, thank you for my old chapters. Thank everyone that offered as well.**

 **So yes, Tomoe's being introduced a little early, but there you go. And don't worry, our beloved crazy Shizuru will appear in the next chapter, promise. And thank you again, RukaMichiSK!**


End file.
